First or Last Kiss?
by Fanfic Devil
Summary: In which Fairy Tail enters the Grand Magic Games and Lucy finds herself facing unexplainable prophetic dreams. There's also a voice that constantly tells her to sing in order to protect her family and friends from dragons. Adding to that is her complicated relationship with a certain Light Dragon Slayer and an Ice Mage with a former crush. (slight!AU STINGLU/GRATSU)
1. Chapter 1

**Ohiya! I'm Fanfic Devil *flashes toothy smile* Idk why, it just happened.. Anyway, this is actually my first (published) fanfic and I'm really excited because, well...  
Since it's my first time, I decided to do something based on Fairy Tail! I'm a serious FT freak! I LOVE the anime, I LOVE the ships and I LOVE the fanfics! Yes. I love it.  
I'm not that good or anything so please don't be too hard on me! Also I've changed some characters to my liking, for example, longer hair, different eye colours and so on. Nothing major so you won't really notice.**

 **Enjoy, my fellow fanficties (teehee as in pixies, you know? No? Oh well, *sigh* I love pixies ... and fairies! Duhh)  
**

* * *

The Grand Magic Games have only just started and Lucy and her team were on their way back to the hotel. Everyone was full of tonight's dinner and were joyfully chatting. Lucy looked up and admired the night sky, just as she felt an urge to see _him_ again. But she couldn't, of course she _couldn't_. She had to clear her mind and go for a walk. Lucy decided that she wouldn't be long so she told everyone she'd be back soon.

After Lucy and the group parted, her mind wandered off to that blonde. He was so frightening and yet, yet she found him so attractive. _A Dragon Slayer, huh?_ She thought about his dark eyes that followed every movement in the arena. They intrigued her so much, something about those eyes said that he was different. Different from his looks, his strength, or even his team-mates. She thought about how weird that sounded, but weirdly right, too.

Suddenly she heard voices from around the corner and she ducked in a nearby alley. Lucy held her breath and tried not to attract to much attention.

Sting and his group were nearing their guild's hotel for the Grand Magic Games as he smelt something strange in the air, something sweet and strangely familiar. He sniffed the air, yes! There it was again. He had to find out where it came from. That sweet scent never left his nostrils as he told the other that he was going to walk around town. Everyone nodded and headed inside, except Lector, Frosch and Rogue.

"What?" he asked irritated. Couldn't he even walk around town now? Rogue raised an eyebrow, shook his head and headed inside with Frosch, before entering he said, "Be careful, though." And shut the doors. Lector looked up at his buddy and frowned. "Uh, what's up with the interest in the town all of a sudden?" Sting shook his head, he didn't know, too. He just wanted to know where that scent came from. It smelt so familiar, where had he sensed the same air before?  
"Well I'm going in, too. Don't think I need to remind you to be careful, though. You're strong enough to win any fight!" Lector left excited and yawned before he shut the doors as well, leaving Sting alone outside.

Lucy didn't hear any talking after a while and decided that it was clear to go. When she stepped out of the alley, she saw him.  
 _Him._ _Sting. Sting Eucliffe.  
_ Yes, it was definitely him. Lucy turned around to run, but he had already sensed her. Still she backed away in the alley and spun her heels. _Shit,_ she thought as she crashed into a couple of wooden boxes, she recovered quickly and ran away. She could hear footsteps behind her, but she couldn't turn around. _No,_ she _wouldn't_ turn around.

As Lucy ran into another alley she didn't notice the dead ending until she almost crashed into it, she tripped over a pile rubbish instead and fell face down on the stones. The running behind her ceased as well, she lifted herself up to see a hand in front of her face. "Here, let me help you." Sting grabbed her arm and lifted her up.  
"Uh.. Thanks." She said while looking away. She swore she saw him smirk, but when she looked at him, his face was a mask.  
"Why did you run." Sting simply stated. "I – I thought I saw you at the Games." Lucy answered. "So?" Sting seemed dissatisfied by her answer. Lucy sighed. "I.. don't think I'm allowed to come across other guild members." She finally said.

Sting had sensed the presence of someone a couple alleys back and when he'd followed it he'd found a girl. A girl around his age with stunning eyes and hair until her waist. What he didn't expect to find was the familiar sweet scent. The girl was definitely the source of it. And he definitely liked it.  
"Why aren't you allowed to see other guild members?" Sting asked less hostile. The girl looked up in surprise, she furrowed her brows and burst out laughing. Sting watched her with a questioning look.  
"Um.. Sorry 'bout that." She took a deep breath, trying not to laugh again. "There are two guys in my guild that constantly fight, not just each other, but if anyone says something they don't like?" she paused. "BOOM." She clapped her hands. "All hell breaks loose and it doesn't even matter who you are or where you came from!" She cocked her head. "They just fight you." A ghost of a smile appeared on her face. And Sting realised he didn't even know her name.  
"What guild are you in?" He asked curiously. She held up her right hand next to her face where a guild mark showed in soft pink.  
"Fairy Tail" she said proudly. This time _he_ burst out laughing. And got an annoyed look from the girl. "Done yet?" she asked irritated. Sting took a deep breath.  
"Hmm yeah, sure" He said, only to end up laughing again, which earned him a slap across his face. He immediately stopped laughing and looked at her, beginning to get angry.  
"It's not funny." The girl said, avoiding his gaze.

How dare he laugh about Fairy Tail! It's not funny! Fairy Tail _was_ once the strongest! He doesn't know _anything_ about us. Lucy had just about enough of this crap.  
"I've had enough of this bullshit!" She yelled. "Do you know what it's like to be gone for 7 years and come home to a broken guild, who were already mourning their loss. Do you know what it feels like to see your family trying to crawl out of the depths, trying to live for our sake! Trying to continue life while not knowing whether their comrades have one!" Lucy paused to look at Sting.  
"Do you know what it's like to only realise you've been gone for 7 years when it's too late.." she spoke quietly.  
"Family?" Sting whispered, Lucy looked up, feeling a tear slide down her cheek. She nodded. "They were the only ones I really saw as family ..after ...my mother died." She looked up to the sky, her vision blurry. "My father never knew... I couldn't even.." She clasped a hand over her mouth and turned her back towards Sting. _Shit, shit, shit. No,_ she thought while trying to hold back tears.

Sting didn't really understand the words thrown at him, al he understood was the way he had made her feel. _Her? What was her name again?_ He didn't remember, but he had to. Think, Sting, Think, think, _think._.. Lucy. _Lucy Heartfilia_  
His head shot up, but the girl had turned around, her shoulders were shaking lightly. Had he done that? _Oh crap,_ he thought. He carefully laid a hand on her shoulder and Lucy fell silent.  
"I – I'm sorry.." Sting whispered. Lucy turned around to face him and he couldn't help himself. He stepped forward and in a swift motion locked Lucy between his arms.

Lucy didn't move, she went very still, but after a couple seconds she felt her eyes burn again and she buried her head in Sting's chest. She felt him stiffen and relax again. Lucy hesitantly put her arms around his waist and cried.  
She cried for that tiny little crack in Fairy Tail's pride that could never be fixed, she cried for her teammates who had to put up with the Games, just for their own good and most importantly she cried, for her father and the things she could've said but didn't have the chance to.  
Lucy felt ashamed of herself. Letting down her guard this easily.  
She pulled away, stepping back. "I – I .." She tried to say something but couldn't find the words to. Taking a deep breath, she tried again. "Fairy Tail is my family, I wouldn't know what to begin without them, so please." Lucy paused, her tone changing. " Please, do _not_ make fun of them. _Ever._ " She locked his eyes with her deadly gaze.  
"Because when you do, I _will_ hunt you and I _will_ find you." She paused again. "And you will _not_ be glad I did." She finished.

Looking at Lucy being fierce, Sting realised he began to take a liking in her. Her eyes were still leaking tears but softly, and while embracing her, he'd felt strangely light and peaceful. Now, on the other hand, looking at her, he felt a flame in the depths of his heart begin to flicker with anticipation.  
He stepped forward once again and cupped her cheek.  
" _Lucy_ " He said quietly.

One moment Lucy was threatening him and the next moment he was cupping her cheek, saying her name. _Her name._ He knew _her_ name. Lucy felt her the blood flow to her face as Sting stared at her, his eyes scanning her face and lingering on her lips.  
Lucy noticed them and felt a sudden eagerness. She stared at him, too, now. Taking in every piece of his profile. His hair was so much more than hers and his scar made his perfect face just, more perfect. And his eyes. Oh, his eyes, they never disappointed her, not when she caught a glimpse of him during the Games and not now. Then lowering her gaze, were Sting's lips.  
They were so full and beautiful and looked so soft. Lucy wanted to know. Needed to know, if they were soft, too.  
Just as she leaned forward, Sting did the same and their lips collided painfully. Lucy's lips stung as she felt Sting's mouth open hers, his tong exploring every inch of her mouth, savouring her taste.

Somehow Sting had pushed Lucy against the stone wall of the alley and they were kissing. _Kissing._ Lucy's hands were around his neck and gripping his hair as she pushed her lips against his. Sting's hands were now on both sides of Lucy, caging her between his arms and the wall.  
Sting felt Lucy pull away reluctantly, biting her lip she looked down. They were breathing hard and his breath made Lucy's hair stir restlessly. "That was.." she began but couldn't find the right words.  
"Too short." Sting finished. He smirked as she looked up in confusion. "I wanted to say.." But Lucy stopped mid-sentence. She blushed furiously and looked down.  
"What?" Sting asked as he tucked a lock of hair behind Lucy's ear. She looked up to the sky. "First kiss.." she mumbled. Sting stared at her. _First kiss? N – No way._ He quickly recovered and lifted her chin.  
"Let's make sure it wasn't your last." He grinned as he lowered his head and kissed Lucy again.

Lucy felt Sting's lips on hers again. But then they left and he kissed her cheek and her jaw-line, hesitating, but when Lucy tilted her head to the side to expose her neck, he continued. Kissing her neck, shoulder and the bare skin around it, her collarbone and the base of her throat. They were all small kisses, making Lucy want to jump out of her own skin.  
Finally, Sting's mouth found hers again and she nipped at his lower lip, making him moan softly into her mouth and they were kissing again.  
Sting pulled away way too soon for Lucy and she groaned when he stepped back, leaving an aching hole between them.

Sting smirked as she heard Lucy groan in protest when he stepped away. It had cost him too much will power himself.  
"I need to go." He just said. "Shit." Lucy whispered. "What? Going to miss me?" He grinned at the satisfaction.  
"No!" she yelled. "I mean.. Ugh I don't know!" She was clearly stressed out by something and Sting didn't understand.  
"What's wrong?" he asked suspiciously. "I don't know! I don't remember anything about _not_ being allowed making out with someone from a different guild, during the Games and _yet,_ I have this feeling that I've done something stupid and wrong and –" She wasn't able to finish her rambling because Sting had sealed her mouth with his once more.  
"Was that really stupid and wrong?" He said against her lips. The only answer was a grunt and they were kissing again.

* * *

 **Soooooooo... Tell me what you think! Also, should I keep this a one-shot or continue the story?  
*Squeals* I'm so nervous for your reactions... Please, please leave a review/comment :3**

 **\- Fanfic Devil *winks***

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Heyaaa guys! I'm so glad that there's like 1 official person who wanted this story to continue *squeals* and I'm doing a second chapter for the lovely** **Jessica Phantomhive! ****I'm so glad you liked it and really wanted it to continue so, here you go!**

 **Hope all of you fanficties like it, too! :3**

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Lucy turned around in her bed, she wasn't able to catch some sleep. Her hand reached unconsciously for her lips and she sighed softly. The only thing she was able to see when she closed her eyes was the profile of a certain blonde Dragon Slayer.  
 _Sting..._ Lucy smiled content as she remembered their kiss.

 _"_ _Was that really stupid and wrong?" Sting said against her lips. The only answer was a grunt and they were kissing again.  
After a while the two broke apart.  
"I really should go." Sting said quietly. Lucy nodded.  
"Me too, guess they'll get worried if I won't head back soon." She looked up to those deep blue eyes that reminded her of the twilight she always admired. She felt Sting's soft lips brush against hers as he murmured his goodbye.  
The two blondes parted ways and headed back to their guild's hotel. The look on their faces was one of someone who had just done something that shouldn't have been done, yet, they found it deeply pleasurable._

Finally, Lucy was able to drift away in a peaceful slumber and all she could think about was the taste of _his_ lips.

As Sting expected when he got back to the guild, everyone was full asleep. Except Rogue, of course.  
When Sting opened the door of the hotel-room the two boys shared, he was immediately greeted by an annoyed face.  
"You're late." Rogue said as Sting closed the door behind him. He sighed and moved to the table where Rogue was currently seated.  
"Hmm.." He sat down and tapped a finger on the table.  
"Hmm? Is that all you have to say?" Rogue said impatiently.  
"Probably." Sting nodded and headed for his bedroom, leaving behind a very unamused Rogue.  
Sting slumped on the bed as he removed his clothes and put on some sweatpants. As he slipped under the covers and drifted off to sleep, the constant image of a blonde mage kept him company.

 _*Time skip: Next day, Grand Magic Games.*_

"Oi, Lucy? Did you hear me?" Gray was impatiently snapping his fingers in front of Lucy's face. She had been zoning out, again. It was happening all the time since this morning.  
Lucy flinched as Gray slapped her cheek, trying to get some reaction out of the girl.  
"Ow..." Lucy grabbed her cheek although it didn't really hurt, sending a deadly glare at Gray. "Gray?! What the hell?" she asked annoyed.  
"You weren't paying attention." Gray shrugged innocently. Lucy sighed, she guessed it was what she deserved anyway. Her mind kept wandering off to Sting. _Sting._ She still couldn't believe what had happened the night before but all she'd done was have her first kiss. So why did she feel so guilty about it?

Her thought were once again interrupted by Gray.  
"So there are going to be one-on-one matches today, huh?" Gray mused aloud.  
"Hiya, minna-kaboo." The pumpkin-man, as Gray liked to call him, said.  
"Today we're going to be doing, one-on-one matches-kaboo!" The crowd went wild when they heard the news and cheered loudly as the pairings were made and each guild offered one of their team.  
After much ruckus, Fairy Tail A-team decided that Lucy shouldn't have too many problems fighting and choose her.

Natsu kept cheering and saying that she'll do great, as did Gray, but with a slightly heavier heart. Gray cared for Lucy, of course, they were a team after all. But he'd often asked himself if that care went deeper for her than for his other guild mates. If he'd be able to live a life in the guild without her being in it. Or if he would go on jobs with Flame Brain, only for the sake of Lucy's happiness.  
He cursed himself for thinking like that, it was obvious that Lucy didn't think about _him_ as more than a friend.

"Thanks!" Lucy said excitedly as she left for the arena floor, grateful for the support of her friends. Although she was troubled by the look on Gray's face before she'd turned around to leave.  
She didn't have time to think anymore of it, she had to stay focused. _Eyes on the here and now, Lucy,_ she thought grimly.  
"Blondieeee..." The auburn haired woman sang. Looking at Lucy with those eyes that stared straight through her.  
"Eh?!..." Lucy whispered and sighed, pulling out one of her keys, she chanted. "Open: Gate of the Bull, Taurus!"

Somewhere in the back Lucy could hear the commentary of the judges about how she started out first, but she was too focused to hear what they were saying. She had all eyes on the opponent.  
"Luuuucy, nice boooody!" Taurus said as he rammed his axe into the ground. It split open towards the auburn girl.  
Not for one second did Lucy think that the match was ended in one strike and she was right.  
The girl dodged the last minute and began her counter attack, her hair growing longer and reaching for Lucy. As Lucy took in the magic, she realised that this was the girl from Raven Tail; Flare.  
Quickly, Lucy summoned Scorpio and used his Sandstorm to drive back the auburn locks.  
"Nice try, _Auburn."_ Lucy teasingly said as she unclasped the whip from her side.  
Flare's eyes widened in anger, "It's Flare, blondie!" she growled as two tendrils of hair reached for Lucy's ankles.  
"Che" Lucy exclaimed as she jumped, slashing out with her whip calling, " _Fleuve D'étoile"_ Lucy's whip transformed in the magic enchanted one, a gift from Virgo. The Celestial whip cracked against Flare's skin as she let go of her grasp on Lucy.

 _She's tough,_ Lucy thought. Both of the girls were panting, their magic levels were equal. Flare had one hand clasped against her side, where the whip had sliced through skin and gasped as the hand made contact with the wound.  
Lucy winced as she put weight on both ankles. She took a key and chanted, "Open: Gate of the Twins, Gemini!" Soon the two spirits appeared next to Lucy. "Piri-piri" They said in unison. "We're going to do the spell, 'kay guys?" She asked them, still looking at Flare.  
"Piri-Kapiri. Yes-yes!" They both shouted excitedly. "Okay!" Lucy nodded.  
"Change: Lucy Heartfilia." Gemini began to reshape their bodies in a bright flash of gold. When they'd changed into Lucy they took their position next to her, stretching out an arm.  
Lucy did the same until their hands touched. She looked around the arena once and saw Flare's teammates, Raven Tail. They stood still as statues, Lucy narrowed her eyes at the unusual sight and turned back to eye Flare.  
The fear was written in her eyes as Lucy began reciting the spell.

 _"_ _Survey the Heavens, Open the Heavens...  
All the stars, far and wide...  
Show me thy appearance...  
With such shine.  
Oh, Tetrabiblos...  
I am the ruler of the stars...  
Aspect become complete...  
Open thy malevolent gate.  
Oh, 88 Stars of the Heaven...  
Shine!  
_ _ **Urano Metria!**_ _"_

The 88 Stars of the Heaven followed Lucy's command and headed for their target: Flare, who was standing frozen on her spot.

" ** _Urano Metria_** " Gray watched the blonde Celestial Mage in disbelief. _How had she managed to learn that spell?_ Lucy had summoned Gemini and they'd cast the spell together. Gray assumed that the spell would be twice as powerful now, which made it a very dangerous situation for both Lucy and her opponent. He clasped the stone railing until his knuckles turned white.  
 _What if she passes out? What if it doesn't affect that girl from Raven Tail? What if the spell is too powerful? What if...?  
_ All kinds of questions were running through Gray's mind and he tried breathing through his nose. _No,_ he thought. _Lucy isn't the same vulnerable mage she was when joining the guild._  
He sighed once he'd calmed down his nerves. Still gripping the railing tightly he watched what happened next.

Lucy watched the 88 Stars of the Heavens follow her command as she and Gemini pointed their intertwined fingers at Flare. As soon as the last words of her spell left her lips she felt her energy drain and her magic flow out of her body.  
Soon after, Gemini left to the Spirit World again and Lucy was left watching what would happen.  
 _Urano Metria_ was on its way to Flare, who was standing too shocked to do anything in defence. The punishment of the Stars of the Heaven were getting closer and closer...

* * *

 **Ooooohhh, what will happen? Gosh, I'm** ** _not_** **good at cliff-hangers. Dammit *sigh*. Sorry you guys, I totally made this different from the anime, I know.. But I'm still going to continue my lovely Sticy! Don't worry! I just thought I would do a little context hehehhe...  
Also, sorry if this is kinda short... I have the cliché excuse: SCHOOL! UGH it's starting again... However, I'll try my best to upload new chapters if y'all like them :3  
Uhmmm so guys, tell me what you think and please, please, please leave a review because I'd like to read them owo**

 **~ Fanfic Devil**

 **Disclaimer: I do, in fact, NOT, own Fairy Tail. Duhhh, if I would: Sticy would be reaaaall (AND Gajevy bcuz OTP guys)*swoon***


	3. Chapter 3

**Ohiyaaa! So I felt really proud of myself for writing 2 chapters already and then, finally, here is chapter 3! *Squeals* Guys, guys... I hope you don't mind Gray! Like, I think Lucy and Gray are totally cute but... Sting. Sting and Lucy is just PERFECT.**

 **EEEKK thank you so much for the nice reviews! I'm so happy to continue this story for you all!**

 **Enjoy another chapter, my lovely fanficties!**

* * *

Sting was watching Lucy's fight from one of the stone balconies that surrounded the arena. He was surprised by the spell ' _Urano Metria'_ though. He'd heard it was one of the strongest spells a Celestial Mage could perform. Sting grinned to himself as he smelt the fear on Lucy's opponent, but the grin soon vanished as the match took an unexpected turn.

Instead of hitting the target from all fronts, the 88 Stars of the Heaven wavered in front of Flare before disappearing entirely. Flare looked up to one of her teammates and grinned slightly, she eyed Lucy again. As the girl approached the fallen mage her eyes flickered with an almost predatory glow.

Lucy was shocked when she saw Urano Metria dissolving in thin air. Unable to hit its target and leaving Lucy drained of any magic or energy to pull herself up. She cowered, curling in a ball when Flare approached Lucy.  
"What's wrong, Blondie? Did it not work?" Flare asked before throwing her head back and letting out an evil laugh.  
Lucy cringed, not wanting to face what was about to come. She had to do something! Surely there was a way around this? Some kind of loophole or something, _anything...  
_ Her thoughts were quickly dismissed as she realised that Flare was holding her wrists with her hair, Lucy was lifted up in the air. Dangling from Flare's auburn locks, she tried reaching for one of her keys, maybe she had enough magic left in her to call forth one spirit.  
Lucy cried out when Flare set her hair on fire, burning Lucy's wrists.  
"No, no, no. That is not how we do things, Blondie!" Flare's eyes widened with delight when she flung the other mage against the arena wall.

Sting sucked in a breath, he saw Lucy's limp body laying in front of the wall. He begged himself to calm down and see what would happen.  
To his surprise Lucy stood up, leaning heavily on the wall with one arm. She glared at Flare and went for her keys again, only to get slashed by, yet another, tendril of Flare's hair.  
Lucy jumped back as her eyes scanned the crowd, she was looking for someone, but for who? Her eyes locked with his own and she raised an eyebrow. _What is she doing?_ Sting thought uncomfortably. Before he could've yelled anything about returning to the fight, she turned her head to face the Raven Tail mage again.

"Second Origin: Unlock." Lucy whispered, she had been thinking of using it as a last resolve and now seemed to be the right time. New energy flowed into her body as her Etherion regenerated. She almost smiled when she opened her eyes to look at Flare. She didn't understand what happened and went for another strike.  
Lucy was quicker this time, she had fully recovered and could summon another spirit. _But who?_ She thought desperately as she unclasped her whip again to fight off the other girl's strands of hair.  
 _Mars!_ Lucy suddenly thought of something. A new Celestial spell she'd taught herself right before the Games had begun. She could try using it now! She had all her magic back and the spell hardly took as much magic from her than Urano Metria.  
Lucy slashed out with her whip again, making Flare back away a couple meters. _Now!_ Lucy thought and readied herself to chant.

 _"_ _In the East against the darkening  
Twilight of the Summer Day,  
Mars, a coal of Fire rising,  
Rising slowly in the Sky._

 _"_ _Fierce it glows beyond the Pine Trees,  
With a redness all its own,  
Rising lonely, while the Night breeze  
Stirs the Branches with a moan._

 _"_ _On it many Eyes are fastened,  
Man is searching for the Key,  
Key to truth in wider boundaries,_

 _I release thee,  
_ _ **Mars! The Star of Mystery!"**_

Lucy breathed heavily as she watched with slight amusement. She'd released Mars, a powerful star in the night's sky and often mistaken for a planet. Lucy knew different and had released his fiery strength upon her opponent. Lucy was panting by the time Flare was hit by an glowing red and gold orb, right in the chest and slumped to the ground.  
She heard the commentators praising her as the winner, complimenting on her spells and how she managed to have so much magic left after summoning the 88 Stars of the Heaven.  
But Lucy wasn't listening anymore, she was getting dizzy and her vision was blurrier than ever. She felt gravity pull her down before she hit the ground and heard footsteps coming her way.

"Lucy? _Lucy?!"_ Gray cradled her head into his lap, feeling for a pulse. He sighed in relief, it was there, though faintly. What was she thinking?! Using two powerful spells in one match! What was she trying to prove?  
"Gray, how's Lucy's state?" Erza asked concerned as she neared him. "S-Stable.." Gray swallowed and lifted Lucy up.  
"We gotta bring her to the infirmary!" Natsu yelled, clearly worried over his best friend.  
Erza nodded in agreement and lead the two boys and Lucy towards Porlyusica.

* _Time skip: Lucy wakes up.*_

Lucy stirred and slowly opened her eyes, she was in a dark room and a little moonlight spilled from a window across the room. As her eyes adjusted she remembered what had happened.

 _"_ _I release thee,_ _ **Mars, the Star of Mystery**_ _." After those words left Lucy's lips she felt satisfied, no way could anyone hold Mars back now. His wrath was too strong for anyone to even try to stop. She almost smiled when the glowing orb hit Flare right in the chest and the girl slumped to the ground.  
She heard voices, so many voices. The commentators, the pumpkin-kaboo-man, the audience, her guild; Fairy Tail.  
_So many voices, _was the last thing she thought as she felt her back hit the ground and everything went black._

Lucy sighed softly as she struggled to sit up straight, her wounds were bothering her. Some were healing fast, thanks to Wendy, she thought with a ghost of a smile.  
But the whip-marks the girl, Flare, had left on her were harder to heal, since they came from pure magic.  
She hissed as the wound on her wrist came in contact with something. Lucy looked down and squealed quietly in surprise.  
"G-Gray?" Lucy whispered, rubbing the bandage on her wrist to soothe the pain.  
Gray groaned and lifted his head, crossing his arms on the side of the bed. His eyes widened when he saw that Lucy was awake.  
"You.. You're awake?" Gray asked unsure. Lucy giggled softly and smiled. "Yeah.."  
~

 **Sooooo? What do you guys think? Sorry if it was a little short! And I never actually intended to make my Sticy a part of a love triangle, BUT I have to admit... it's kinda interesting :3  
Anywaaayy, do you mind Sticy being in a Love-Triangle with Gray? I, myself, have no idea yet who she'll pick so that's going to be up to you guys! 0w0  
How did I get myself into this mess *sigh***

 **Oh and by the way, that '** ** _Mars, the Star of Mystery'_** **spell is actually a poem, but I changed the last bit. It's a poem from Catherine Cate Coblentz. If you're interested in the original poem (which is much the same except for the last two lines or so) you should PM me or leave a comment on that! (You can also look it up hehhe)**

 **Please leave a review if you feel like it teeheee**

 **~ Fanfic Devil out!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fairy Tail *face-palm* Like, that's so obvious... And I don't own the poem that's mentioned, it's from Catherine Cate Coblentz!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hellooo guys! So sorry for not uploading for a really long time! Okay so I was ill and school kept bothering me, so yeah... You know the drill *sigh***

 **Anywaaayy, I'm super excited for this chapter because I really feel like writing! Hmmm so enjoy fanficties!  
**

* * *

"Hey, you look pale... You sure you don't wanna lie down again?" Gray asked cautiously.

Lucy shook her head and braided her hair in a long side-braid.  
"Lucy.." Gray sighed and sat down on his chair. He'd been so worried about her and here she was, stubbornly trying to tie her shoelaces as she kept muttering about how her burns weren't nice to her.  
"Here, let me help you." Gray got off his seat and crouched in front of Lucy's boots.  
He heard her sigh in defeat and grinned while he did her laces.  
"Thanks, Gray." Lucy got off the bed when the ice mage was finished.  
"No worries." Gray lifted a shoulder and eyed the girl up and down, checking if she was really okay. Suddenly he noticed the red stains on the bandages covering her wrists.

Lucy followed his eyes and looked down. Her eyes widened at the sight and she let out a squeal of surprise as Gray took both her wrists. She struggled to pull them back but Gray's grip was firm.  
"Lucy." The boy hissed and a soothing feeling spread from Gray's hands towards her wrists, Lucy felt herself go numb under his icy touch and slumped against his chest.  
She sighed as the throbbing ache from before vanished and felt herself in Gray's arms before he lay her down on the hospital bed.  
"You should take more care of yourself, Luce." He whispered and tucked a blonde lock of hair behind the girl's ear.  
Lucy felt Gray's fingers caress the side of her face and she sighed content. His fingers traced down her cheek and along her jaw-line towards her chin until he rested his thumb on her lips. The Celestial mage was too fatigued to even notice the warm pressure on her lips before she drifted off to sleep.

Gray pulled back and stared at the sleeping girl. What had he just done? Why? _Why did I do that?_ He sighed and leaned back in his chair. He couldn't think straight when being in her presence. He felt warm when she looked at him, felt a burning ache in his stomach when one of her smiles was directed to him.  
He ran a hand through his raven hair and got up. The ice mage left the infirmary and headed outside, feeling the need to clear his mind somehow.  
 _Flame-brain,_ he thought and smirked.

* _Time skip: A bar in the city of the GMG, regularly visited by Fairy Tail members*_

Gray entered the bar and was greeted by a chair flying in his direction. He dodged to the side and glared at the person who threw it.  
"Flame-brain" He growled.  
"Oi Gray, how was Lucy doing?!" Natsu asked as he walked towards Gray, not taking notice of the situation and flashed a toothy grin.  
"First: She is fine. Second: YOU DO NOT THROW CHAIRS AT ME YOU ASH-HEAD!" Gray yelled and punched Natsu in the face, sending him flying across the room.  
He let out a sigh and headed for the bar, asking for iced water.  
"WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT ICE-PRINCESS?!" Gray heard Natsu scream as he got up.  
Gray shook his head, he wanted to blow off some steam but somehow it seemed that fighting the Dragon Slayer wouldn't do the trick.  
"YOU WANNA GO SNOWM –" But Natsu was cut off as an armour-clad elbow connected with his face.  
"Ooowww.." The fire mage whined as Happy shrieked, flying to hide behind Charle who tsk-ed.  
"Erza's back" Gray murmured under his breath.  
Said mage walked towards Gray and took a seat beside him.  
"I want an update on Lucy's state." Erza stated and asked the barman for a drink. Gray shrugged and swirled the contents of his glass.  
"Stable, I suppose." He glanced at Erza, seeing that she was clearly not satisfied with that answer, he sighed.  
"Healed almost completely, except for Flare's burns." Erza raised an eyebrow and started sipping her beverage.  
"You think she'll still be participating tomorrow?" she asked, glass halfway to her lips.  
Gray snorted, "Definitely, she's stubborn like that." At that Erza nodded and the conversation ended there.

* _POV change*_

Lucy slowly opened her eyes to a dark room. She struggled to sit up and felt that her wounds were slightly better. Sighing, she reached for her keys on the nightstand, but froze with her arm still outstretched. She sensed someone in the room. _Familiar,_ was the first thing that came to mind when she noticed blue eyes staring at her from across the room.  
Then it hit her.  
"Sting?!" Lucy asked incredulous, retracting her arm.  
Said Dragon Slayer gave a lopsided grin and walked forwards.  
"Hey.." He looked down as Lucy eyed him suspiciously.  
"Um.. I wanted to, like.. check if you were okay?" It sounded more like a question than an actual reason. Still, Lucy was kinda glad that he was here.  
"Thanks." She smiled at Sting, who looked away, not being able to hold her gaze too long.  
"Sting?" Lucy asked, noticing.  
The blonde didn't answer and just shook his head, trying to shrug it off. "It's nothing."  
"Sting." Lucy asked again, determined to know what was bothering him so much.

Suddenly Sting found himself hovering over the girl. Gazing into those perfect brown eyes.  
"I.. I was just..." he sighed. "Concerned." He looked away from the girl who was watching him with wide orbs.  
"Stin-ghh" Lucy wasn't able to finish her sentence because Sting leaned down to seal her lips with his. He felt the swollenness of her lips under his and it made him angry, the person who did this would definitely _pay._  
Sting pulled back lightly and looked into Lucy's eyes. What he saw only made him more certain of his revenge, _nobody_ should touch his Celestial mage.  
 _Wait, what? 'My' Celestial mage?  
_ Sting found fear in Lucy's eyes, fear and fury mixed so strong that they would hardly seem visible, but he could see. He could see so clear, all the feelings that were mixed inside Lucy's chest. Fear, anger, sadness, regret.  
A low growl escaped Sting's throat and he tried to swallow it back before Lucy noticed, but of course she would anyway.  
"Sting?" Lucy whispered and looked up, meeting his eyes. She began tracing her fingers over his face and he shivered under her touch.  
"Where'd you get that?" she asked quietly, resting her index finger over a scar above his right eye.

Lucy traced the scar and felt Sting's tense muscles relax.  
"Just.. some accident I had when I was younger." He grinned and his hands cupped Lucy's face. He slowly lowered his head and placed an almost too gently kiss on her lips.  
Then he was gone and Lucy was left wondering why he'd left all of a sudden when the door to the infirmary opened, revealing Wendy and Porlyusica.  
"Lucy-san!" Wendy practically yelled and ran over to the girl.  
"How are you feeling, child?" Porlyusica asked as she crossed the room to stand behind Wendy.  
"I'm fine, really." Lucy smiled brightly and let Wendy do her healing magic for a last check-up. After the little blue-haired Dragon Slayer was finished she hugged Lucy tightly, not letting go as she spoke.  
"I and everyone at the guild's hotel was so worried." she broke the embrace and grinned at her friend.  
"I know..." Lucy looked down at her hands, it wasn't her intention to make everyone worry about her.  
"Uh, Porlyusica, don't you think Lucy-san is stable enough to leave the infirmary?" Lucy looked at the little girl and a smile crept up her face. She cared so much!  
Porlyusica merely nodded and left the room.  
"I brought some clothes you can change into! And then we'll get back to everyone, they're waiting at a bar.. I believe." Wendy cocked her head and frowned.  
"Oh well, we'll find them. Do you need help with that?" she said pointing to the bunch of clothes on the nightstand.  
Lucy shook her head, "No thanks, I'll be back in a bit." She smiled and got up to change in a different room.

* * *

 **Soooo guys, that was chapter 4 already! Sorry for any typos, weird sentences, because I didn't proofread it this time ... and it's late.. so..  
Well, let me know what you think! How was the kinda fluff?**

 **Omygawd so big news: It's my birthday in like 15 minutes! EEEKK 0w0  
It's 23:45pm now.. and my birthday is on the 10** **th** **of September, which you probably guessed... And it's pretty late and I've school tomorrow..  
Oh well, it's not that I need sleep or anything... Right? *sigh* **

**Anywaaay, I really need to get some sleep lovelies! I love writing for you, but unfortunately I love sleep some more!**

 **Goodnight fanficties!**

 **-Fanfic Devil, out.**

 **DISCLAIMER: GUESS WHA? I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL *LE DESPERATE SIGH***


	5. Chapter 5

**Helloooo everyone! I'm so happy because it's Friday and my weekend is so close!  
And I had an awesome birthday, in case you were wondering...**

 **Okaaaay, well ... I'm so glad with the follows and favourites for this story! *squeals* Y'all don't know how much that means to me hehehhe**

 **Hmmm so let's get started! Enjoy my fanficties :3**

* * *

Sting watched as the blue haired girl and the pink haired woman entered the room. He was perched on a tree branch just outside the window, keeping an eye on his Lucy.  
 _Wait, 'my' Lucy? Again?! I need to stop.  
_  
Sting sighed and jumped down, heading for his guild's inn. He dreaded to go back there, he hated the place. He hated any place where his guild master, Jiemma, resided. He and his daughter, Minerva, totally ruined the spirit since they wanted for Sabertooth to be the strongest guild in Fiore. Their need for power made them both rule with an iron fist and anyone who didn't obey their rules faced severe punishment.  
Sting shivered as he remembered how master Jiemma had told everyone what waited for them, should they fail during the Grand Magic Games.

Sting knew the consequences of losing. Of failing. But it was long ago that he had faced them, because he'd taught himself to be strong, how to put up walls. He acted cocky and arrogant on the outside, but deep down he craved for the bond that all the Fairy Tail mages seemed to have.  
Of course he had thought of joining another guild, leaving Sabertooth behind, but he wouldn't do it. He would _not_ let himself do it. Sting wanted to prove Jiemma and possibly Minerva that he was worthy of Sabertooth and that a strong bond could be formed between its guild members.  
He'd lost that need to prove the night he'd met Lucy in an ally. She'd been ranting on and on about being 7 years away from reality, their family and their homes. She'd told Sting that he didn't know what it was like to come back to a broken guild, to come back to a family that was grieving their losses. It was then that Sting realised what it meant to have a guild, to have a _family..._ A _home._

Sting came to a halt in front of their inn and stared up at the building. It was as plain and ugly, jus as the people that were inside.  
 _Disgusting,_ he thought.  
Sting entered and found his way to the hotelroom he, Rogue and the Exceeds shared. When he opened the door he found the room dark and quiet. He sighed in relief, he didn't want to face Rogue right now, he just wanted to sleep and get over with tomorrow.  
Unfortunately for the blonde Dragon Slayer wasn't granted his wish and as soon as he set one foot in the room, all the lights went on and Rogue was standing in the middle of the room, arms crossed.

"R-Rogue, hiiiiii" Sting tried nonchalantly, but surprise was lacing his words.  
"Didn't see you there! Ha ha..." He scratched the back of his head and grimaced. This wasn't exactly working.  
Rogue's eyes narrowed as he eyed his twin up and down, looking for any clues as of where he'd been. He sniffed and his eyes widened in surprise.  
"Why... Why do you smell like a girl?" Rogue asked, gritting his teeth.  
Sting cocked his head in a failing attempt to show Rogue that he didn't know what he was talking about.  
"Don't play with me, Sting." Rogue's eyes narrowed, "What's good?"  
The other boy sighed in defeat as he realised that there was no escaping his brother and crossed the room, plopping down on his bed.  
"Lucy... Lucy Heartfilia, that's what's good." Sting looked up to meet Rogue's eyes.  
"S-seriously? I don't get it!" Rogue walked over to Sting and grabbed his chin.  
"I thought you said you didn't devote yourself to _anyone_ , because you thought that love was _stupid_ and for _fools."_ He emphasized the words so he could watch Sting's reaction, but he got none.

Sting looked away, freeing his face from Rogue's grip.  
"I know." He looked at his brother again, "But who said it was love, anyway?"  
Rogue raised an eyebrow and shook his head.  
"I will kill you if you think about that girl as just a toy, I swear to God, I will." He took a deep breath before continuing.  
"Because you need her, I can tell already, she might be the key to your lock, Sting. I don't know if you even realise it, but she might be able to... break down those walls." Rogue turned around and picked up a sleeping Lector from his bed before walking out of the room.

Sting was left open-mouthed in shock. Rogue had said that Lucy was what he needed. _Rogue._ Of all people it had to be Rogue, who noticed.  
Of course, Sting could feel it too, though. Deep down he knew that he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he let the Celestial mage go. Although they might not know each other for that long, he certainly wanted to _get_ to know her. At least, that's what he desired, but he wasn't ready to let the walls break down yet. As Rogue said, Lucy was Sting's salvation, but the blonde Dragon Slayer had no idea if he'd be able to handle that escape just yet.

* _POV change*  
_  
"Achoo!" Lucy sniffed and pouted, was she getting ill, now? The girl next to her giggled.  
"Someone must be talking about you!" Wendy cooed, looking up at the blonde with big brown eyes. This made Lucy frown, _who would talk about me?_  
Her thoughts were quickly dismissed as a group of people entered the bar. Lucy turner around on her seat to look at who was there. She was surprised to see Lyon, Yuka and Sherria, from the guild Lamia Scale.  
The three scattered off to different places. Lyon came over to Juvia, who was subconsciously clinging to Gray which made both the boys starting an argument. Again.  
Yuka was, weirdly enough, making conversation with team Shadow Gear, minus Levy, who was talking to Sherria at the entrance.  
Lucy turned back to her drink and noticed that Wendy had a slight blush on her cheeks.  
"Eh? Wendy? You okay?" Lucy asked the blue haired Dragon Slayer. Wendy nodded and sipped her apple juice, but Lucy wasn't going to take that as an answer and when she was about to ask again she saw Wendy glancing at Sherria who was already looking in her direction. Wendy quickly looked away and blushed furiously while sipping her drink again.  
 _How interesting,_ Lucy mused to herself. _So Wendy liiiikes Sherria!  
_ Suddenly the blonde girl sprang to her feet and ran to an empty table in the corner of the bar, dragging Wendy with her.

When they were seated at the table, Lucy wasted no time.  
"Tell me everything! You and Sherria! What do I need to know?!" Lucy squealed in excitement and Wendy's cheeks got redder by the minute.

* * *

~  
 **Eeeeekk, so how did you like? I think that Wendy and Sherria are cuuuute! Sorry for all the Wendyx Romeo shippers over here! I just really like these two together :3 AND I know that Wendy is 12 years old in the anime/manga but I decided to make her a couple years older so she would fit together with Sherria, who is 17 btw. So Wendy is 15/16 I guess =w= Oh, well who actually cares, THEy'RE cUTE!**

 **Anywaaayy, I wanted to ask if you guys prefer StingxLucy or GrayxLucy because someone suggested I should do a poll or something. Will that be a good idea? Like... if no one agrees, it'll just be StingxLucy because that's the original idea but if you think GrayxLucy is way better, please let me know so I can let you all vote!**

 **Okay, I should write more and talk less *sigh* So that's it! Sorry if it was a bit short, but I'm really tired and I just wanted to upload a new chapter!**

 **-Fanfic Devil out! 0w0**


	6. Chapter 6

**Heyaaa! I'm back :3 Uhmm so I didn't get any negative reviews about WendyxSherria so I'm going to keep 'em! CuTE =w=**

 **Aaannd I also didn't get any comments on the StingxLucy and GrayxLucy thing, but I'll leave that for a while... you guys can always just tell me which one you prefer!**

 **So let's get going, fanficties!**

* * *

Wendy took a deep breath and faced Lucy, how was she going to do this? _Oh, well. At least I can trust Lucy-san,_ she thought.  
"Uhmm... Lucy-san, I think..." Wendy began fidgeting uncomfortably. Lucy noticed and realised that this must be a hard topic for the little girl, she gently grabbed one of her hands and smiled.  
"You can tell me anything, Wendy!"  
Wendy sighed, she couldn't just keep struggling with herself, she would have to tell someone _eventually.  
_ "I know... Lucy-san.. I-I like Sherria!" the girl blurted, cringing as she realised that all the Dragon Slayers in the room must've heard here confession.

Lucy glared at the several heads that turned around, the Dragon Slayers all looked away, minding their own business. Lucy sighed inwardly and looked down at the blue haired girl that was clutching Lucy's hand like a lifeline.  
"It's alright Wendy!" Lucy said softly, she embraced the girl carefully and spoke soothingly.  
"You can like whoever you want, Wen. There will always be people who turn their back on you, but at least you can stay true to yourself." She hugged Wendy tightly.  
"And staying true to yourself is more important than pretending to be someone else. In the end, you'll always have your real friends right beside the real you."  
"Do you promise, Lucy-san?" Wendy asked quietly, her voice shaky. Lucy stiffened, was the little Dragon Slayer _crying?_ No, no, no, no, no, no.  
Wendy was _not_ allowed to cry, she had to smile and be as cheerful as always. Lucy couldn't handle a crying friend, especially not this one.  
 _Nobody,_ Lucy thought. _Nobody will make her cry anymore.  
_ "Hey.." she said softly, letting go of her friend to look her in the eye.  
"I promise, okay?" Lucy smiled and brushed some tears of Wendy's face.

Wendy sniffed.  
"Okay.." she looked up at Lucy and smiled brightly once again.  
"Thank you, Lucy-san!" Lucy rolled her eyes and grinned down at her.  
"Didn't I tell you to just call me Lucy? I'm not _that_ old, you know." Wendy giggled and Lucy couldn't resist to laugh with the little girl. Her giggles were just so _catchy._

* _POV change*_

Frosch stirred in his sleep, Sting sighed and stood up to get the him back to sleep. Why hadn't Rogue taken Frosch with him, anyway?  
"Sting-kun?" Frosch said sleepy and Sting looked down to where the exceed was cradled in his arms.  
"Hey, sleepyhead." Sting smirked.  
"Rogue! Rogue, where are you?!" Frosch was suddenly out of the Dragon Slayer's arms, frantically searching the room for his best friend.  
"Fro, he's out. Lector is with him." Sting said trying to calm the little guy down.  
"I don't know why he took Lector instead of you, though." He mused silently.  
"Fro, doesn't know why, too!" Frosch said, almost angry but not quite succeeding in sounding like he meant it. Then the exceed looked up at Sting and frowned.  
"Sting-kun seems down... Why?" He asked unsure, walking closer to blonde.

Sting's eyes widened. _Am I seriously_ that _obvious?_  
"Huh?! I-I seem down? What..." Frosch jumped up into his lap and up again onto his shoulder.  
"Hmm-hmm." He answered, making himself comfortable in the crook of his friend's neck.  
Sting sighed.  
"Nothing to worry about, go back to sleep Fro." He gently patted the exceed and lifted him off his shoulder. Carefully placing Frosch on Rogue's bed he went to fall asleep in his own.  
God, he was _exhausted._

 _*Time skip: Next morning, before the GMG start again*_

Lucy groaned and rubbed her temples. Yawning, she opened her eyes and cautiously scanned the room.  
 _Erza, Mirajane, Levy, Cana..._ Lucy sighed, they were all still asleep.  
Last night had been fun, there was a lot of celebrating Lucy's victory and a lot of beer. A lot of singing and dancing and there was so much laughter. Lucy smiled at the ceiling. _Laughter,_ she thought. That was the thing that would always come back for the Fairy Tail mages. As long as they were a family, there would be no end to the happiness in the guild.  
Lucy was truly proud to call Fairy Tail her family. Her _true_ family.  
Suddenly Lucy's thoughts drifted off to Wendy's confession. She had been so brave to tell. Especially with so many narrow minded people roaming the streets, so much prejudice.  
 _Wait... Wendy!  
_  
Lucy shot up in bed and scanned the room for her blue haired friend, but she couldn't find her. The Celestial mage got up, careful not to make any sounds and tiptoed to the door. She could hear faint voices now and with her curiosity taking over, she silently opened the door.  
peeking through the tiny split, she could see Wendy in the hallway.  
Lucy sighed internally and as she was about to open the door completely, she heard another voice.  
"I agree! Lucy was totally kicking some ass!" A girl's voice. _Who?_ Lucy squinted through the crack, trying to get a glimpse of the other girl. All she saw, however, was an excitedly nodding Wendy.  
"Anyway... I really should get back to my guild's inn." The other girl sighed.  
"Wait! Sherria... uhh..." Lucy's eyes widened as she saw the little scene in front of her. So it was Sherria who Wendy had been talking to! Intrigued, Lucy watched the two girls.

"Hmm?" Sherria watched as the Dragon Slayer's eyes reflected several emotions.  
"Hey, Wendy? You, okay?" She asked worried.  
The other girl nodded, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks and took a deep breath, eyeing Sherria again.  
"Sherria... I-uhh- I really li –" * _CRASH! *_  
Sherria and Wendy shrieked in surprised shock. What. Was. That?

Lucy groaned as the heavy body laying on top of her pressed down.  
"NATSU!" She whined and tore at him.  
"... Lucy!" Natsu grunted and looked down at Lucy.  
"GET OFF!" Lucy growled and pushed the Dragon Slayer, who finally got off.  
"Sorry, Luce!" Natsu sheepishly rubbed his neck and gave the girl a lazy smirk. Lucy did _not_ look pleased.  
"You stupid unbelievably thick-headed pink _moron!"_ Lucy hissed and sighed. Wendy was _just_ about to _confess._ And this dense idiot here had to, as per usual, interfere!  
"Lucy-san? Natsu-san?" Lucy froze and panicked, she looked at Natsu who was casually picking his nails. She surely wouldn't find help there. Sighing again she turned around.  
"Hey! Wendy, Sherria!" She said cheerfully, praying to Mavis that the two hadn't noticed anything.  
"What are you doing up so early?" Wendy asked. This time Natsu answered.  
"I was going to ask Lucy if she wanted to get breakfast!" Wendy snickered behind a hand and Lucy's eyebrow twitched.  
"Well, I'll join you!" the blue haired Dragon Slayer said excited. This made Lucy think of something. She turned her head to Sherria who was, not so subtly, shuffling away from the trio.  
"Hey, Sherria! You wanna come?" she asked smiling warmly at the mage from Lamia Scale.  
"Yes! I'd love to, actually." Sherria's answered happily.  
Lucy sent a smug look towards Wendy, who had just begun to realise _what_ exactly she'd gotten herself into.

* * *

 **Sooooo, I'm super sorry for this short-ass chapter guys! I was planning on writing a nice long chapter but NOO school had to give me shitloads of homework and tests and just UGH... I mean, COME ON it's the _beginning_ of the freaking school year. LET. ME. HAVE. SOME. REST.**

 **Okay sorry for that little ... rambling. Y'all know the stress. *sigh***

 **Hmmmmmm, let me know what you think! Pleaaase, leave a review :3**

 **-Fanfic Devil**

 **DISCLAIMER: I, obviously, DO NOT own FAIRY TAIL! I just own the rights to ship LucyxSting (and LucyxGray) =w=**


	7. Chapter 7

**Helloo guys! So since last time was reaaaally short I decided to make it up to you and make a longer chapter (well it's a long chapter for** ** _me_** **but idk 'bout you guys...)**

 **So I hope you're enjoying my story until now! And thank you all so much for the reviews! All the follows and faves are seriously awesome and they mean a lot to me ^w^**

 **Another chapter for all of you fanficties!**

* * *

Sherria, Wendy, Lucy and Natsu were sitting in one of the booths inside a peaceful café. Natsu's plate was filled with mountains of food and was eating away like it would be his last meal.  
Lucy on the other hand hadn't even touched her food, she was sneaking glances at Wendy and Sherria, who were talking quietly while enjoying their breakfast.

"Hey, um, Sherria?" Wendy said after she took a sip of her apple juice.  
"Yeah?" Sherria answered while slurping away at a vanilla milkshake. The blue-haired Dragon Slayer giggled.  
"How's your team?" She asked to start another conversation. Sherria looked at Wendy and shrugged.  
"They're fine I suppose, but my Master keeps muttering things about _spinning._ And I just don't understand!" she sighed for dramatic effect.  
"Lyon is constantly telling us how he'll win the Games to make Juvia love him, but... yeah..." Sherria paused.  
"uh, I mean... he can just about get anyone he wants!" She looked down blushing and Wendy frowned.  
"Like, there might be people who will actually return his feelings... Ya know? Ha.. hahaha" Sherria said awkwardly and proceeded slurping her milkshake with a faint blush on her cheeks.

Lucy listened to the conversation carefully while shovelling bits of food into her mouth as Natsu kept whining about wanting her food, because it looked _tastier.  
_ Suddenly she froze, fork halfway to her mouth and eyes wide.  
 _What?! No!_  
Lucy snapped her head up and saw Sherria blushing. _So she_ does _have a thing for Lyon... Ah shit, how am I gonna get her with Wendy?!  
_ She laid her fork down and began sipping her strawberry milkshake thoughtfully, when she heard the little bell at the entrance of the café tinkle.  
She turned around to see who was entering, more out of habit than actual interest, but she almost dropped her drink when she saw who was standing in the doorway.  
He was scanning the people in the café and his eyes landed on Lucy's carefully, before he strolled over to a booth on the other side of the Fairy Tail mages.  
Lucy was left looking straight at him if she averted her gaze past Natsu.  
"What's he doing here..." Lucy mused silently and took another bite of her sandwich. She concentrated on the two girls sitting next to her again.

"Y-yeah.. I suppose!" Wendy felt all her hopes crushed as Sherria, sort of actually told her that she liked Lyon. Wendy couldn't believe it. First of all, Lyon was much older than Sherria and second, he had his eyes on Juvia, anyway. So why would Sherria even bother? Couldn't she see past the rosy views of her Seventh Heaven and realise that Lyon would _never_ return her feelings?  
Wendy peeked at Lucy from over the rim of her glass and was surprised that the Celestial mage wasn't watching them intently or even pretending to _not_ be watching. She frowned and followed Lucy's line of sight, slowly turning her head to look over her shoulder.  
A surprised gasp escaped Wendy's lips as she saw at who Lucy was looking. But the person was too busy eating to even notice Wendy staring at him.  
 _Blonde, broad shoulders, scar over his right eye..._ Wendy was thinking hard at who he might be, although he seemed familiar, something was off. She'd sensed the same kind of air before but she wasn't able to place it now, her nose wasn't as polished as Natsu's.  
Talking about Natsu, Wendy glanced at him and mentally rolled her eyes. Of course he hadn't noticed, he was too busy eating like a starving horse.

Wendy turned back around and heard a bell tinkle, indicating another customer. She looked up to glance at the next costumer and was surprised to see a dark haired mage standing in the entrance. _Definitely a Dragon Slayer, like the blonde one._ Wendy thought as the person passed their booth and slid into the one next to theirs.  
"Oi, Sting, did you order anything for me?" she heard a gruff voice say. She scrunched her brows, _Sting?!_ That blonde haired Dragon Slayer was _the_ Sting Eucliffe? But why would Lucy stare at him like she knew him? Or maybe it was more because of his looks... Wendy didn't understand and shrugged it off. She continued eating her breakfast peacefully while Lucy kept staring at the two boys behind her.

"Eeh?" Sting said to his fellow Dragon Slayer who squinted his eyes at him. "S-sorry, Rogue! I didn't think you'd be up this early... " Sting raised his hands in defence.  
"Tch, of course you wouldn't." Rogue scoffed and looked at his brother intently.  
"Your mind's always on that Celestial Mage, no?" He smirked and picked a fry of Sting's plate.  
"ROGUE!" Sting hissed through clenched jaws as he eyed past Rogue to see the blonde mage staring at them. He mentally slapped himself, _why,_ of all the places in this restaurant, had he chosen this particular table?  
"What?" Rogue asked innocently. Sting glared at him and waved his hand for a waitress, trying to distract Rogue from embarrassing him even more.

* _Time skip: Wendy, Sherria, Natsu and Lucy are walking towards the Arena.*_

"Hey, Wen?" Lucy started, slowing her pace so that she and the blue haired Dragon Slayer fell behind.  
"What's it Lucy-san?" Wendy asked.  
"Hmm, I heard Sherria talk about Lyon..." Lucy raised a brow and Wendy knew what she meant instantly. She sighed, looking down at her toes.  
"I-I don't know... I don't think I have a chance at all." The bluenette looked up at the sky.  
"And... Maybe she'd be better off with Lyon, but I just don't understand! He is much older and clearly in love with Juvia... Ugh Lucy-san, what should I _do?!"_  
Lucy looked down at the little girl and a smile tugged at her lips. Of course she would worry about that, but Lucy would not give up on their love. She wanted so desperately for Wendy to be happy and Sherria was just the person she needed.  
"Wen, don't worry! Love just.. isn't always on time." Wendy snapped her head up and looked at Lucy with bright eyes.  
"You think she'll be able to like-like me one day?" she asked happily. Lucy nodded and grinned.  
"Of course! Now let's catch up with those two." They increased their pace and soon caught up with Natsu and Sherria.

"Well, I guess I'll be going.. The breakfast was great, thank you Lucy-san! My team's waiting, so.. bye!" Sherria shot one last glance at Wendy, who smiled politely up at her and turned around to join the rest of her team on the other end of the Arena.  
Why had she said those things about Lyon?! _Wendy must think that I have a thing for him! Oh god, oh god, oh god._  
The God Slayer was lost. How was she going to tell Wendy how she felt if the Dragon Slayer would possibly think that Sherria liked Lyon.  
 _I mean, come on! He is so much older than me! Probably has his eyes on Juvia anyways...  
_ Sherria groaned as she realised in what a mess she'd gotten herself in.  
She slowly opened the door to the guild's balcony and sat besides Toby.

* _POV change*_

Lucy stood near the balcony railing and rested her arms on the cold stone. Staring off into the distance she realised how little she knew about _him._  
Her eyes were automatically scanning the faces on the other balconies and she caught sight of a blonde mage, who just turned around and disappeared behind a door.  
Lucy sighed. Sting was doing weird things to her. She didn't know the first thing about him, yet she felt so comfortable and _safe_ near him. He was truly a mystery to her, but she was confident in solving it.  
She flinched as someone tapped her shoulder. She turned around quickly and blew out a breath.  
"Oh, it's you.." Lucy smiled awkwardly and scratched her head. Gray frowned.  
"Yeah, it's me. Sorry, did I scare you?" Gray smirked. Lucy narrowed her eyes.  
"Um, yes? You've got to learn to _not_ sneak up on people..." she sighed. "And to keep track of your shirt." She pointed at Gray's, now bare, chest.  
Gray looks startled.  
"Eeeehh? Where did it go?!" Gray looked around frantically and sighed, giving up. Lucy chuckled and looked up at Gray, her breath caught momentarily in her throat as his eyes stared back at hers intently.  
"Oi! Ice Princess, where are your pants?!" Natsu yelled, breaking the moment. _Was it a moment?_ Lucy thought warily.  
"Eh? Right he-" Gray broke off as he realised that his pants were indeed gone, too. He was left with his boxers on.  
"Gray-samaa~" Juvia's voice rang somewhere in the distance and Gray shivered. He found his pants behind a seat and quickly put them on.  
"You were saying, Flame Brain?" Gray huffed and crossed his arms.  
"Hey! That don't count! You just put them on again! You're still a pervert!" Natsu yelled, igniting his fists in fire.  
"You've no right to say that Cinder Breath!" Gray yelled, getting ready to slam some sense into the fire Dragon Slayer's head, although he doubted it would work.  
"You wanna go Snowman?!" Natsu yelled and started forward to throw a punch, when someone cleared her throat.  
"Natsu, Gray." Erza said as she approached the two mages. They immediately forgot their fight and went to stand beside Lucy.  
"H-hi, Erza!" Natsu stammered as he clung to Lucy's arm. Gray frowned at that but let it slide, to afraid of Erza to do anything. He gave Erza a slight nod as a greeting.  
"Morning boys, Lucy." The scarlet haired mage said.  
"Hi Erza! How was breakfast?" Lucy asked politely. Erza's eyes immediately glimmered at the thought of her breakfast and Lucy guessed that she'd gotten some awesome cake.  
Lucy smiled as she was right and Erza began rambling excitedly about the cakes she ate not so long ago.

 _*Time skip: Games start*_

"Hello minna-kaboo!" The pumpkin-man started talking after suddenly appearing in the middle of the Arena.  
"Today we'll be starting with the even Chariot-kaboo!" The pumpkin flashed a huge grin and continued, "Please, select a mage from your team-kaboo!"

"I WANT TO GO!" Natsu immediately yelled after the pumpkin-head disappeared. Everyone in Fairy Tail Team A sighed.  
"I think that's-" before Erza could finish her sentence, Natsu cheered and darted out the door.  
"... not such a good idea." Erza face-palmed and shook her head.  
"Honestly, he's got no patience." Lucy said, snickering behind a hand. Gray smirked at that and he and Lucy shared a look before breaking out into a laughing fit.

* * *

 **Okaaayy so that was yet another chapter! Sorry there's almost no Sticy/GraLu fluff guys . I was kinda focussing on WendyxSherria...**

 **Hmm so I'll upload the next chapter as soon as I can which is probably on Friday or Sunday... Idk *sigh* I have so many tests this week and a performance on Saturday as well.**

 **Okay soooo, this is kinda random but I think that homosexuals are deeply underrated in stories (general, not just fanfics...) and yeah, I just want to dedicate a song to Sherria and Wendy because I LOVE the song and it somehow reminded me of them when I wrote this:  
**

 _ **Girls Like Girls - Hayley Kiyoko**_

 **Listen to it anytime! I just thought it'd be cute to devote a song to one of my ships ^w^**

 **Anway, I didn't proofread this but please, please, please leave a review! I love all of you :3**

 **-Fanfic Devil, out!**

 **DISCLAIMER: *Insert the usual rant about not owning Fairy Tail, which I don't, just so you know...***


	8. Chapter 8

**Heyaa guys! Sooo, yesterday was a very long day for me and I was just super tired so I couldn't write anything. BUT here I am! With another chapter for all of you lovelies ^w^**

 **Also: should I change the summary? Because it's not really... idk.. it doesn't really explain anything? Well, tell me!**

 **Enjoy, fanficties!**

* * *

"I can't take this anymore!" Natsu whined as he struggled to keep his balance on the moving object. His face looked pale and strands of salmon-coloured hair were plastered on his sweaty forehead.

"Wha... What's this?" Gajeel questioned as he doubled over, unable to keep himself from feeling dizzy and ill.  
"This is Salamander's thing! I... do _not_ have motion sickness!" He yelled, causing the rest of Fairy Tail to snicker behind their hands. Natsu was so persistent on participating in the Chariot event that Gajeel had to join him. Sting, another Dragon Slayer, heard them and decided on joining in too.  
"Ugh.. My head!" Sting cried as his hands flew to his head, desperately trying to get his fuzzy brains back in place.

Well, maybe motion sickness wasn't just 'the Salamander's thing' anymore.

"It's a Dragon Slayer thing, I believe." Master Mavis spoke up and immediately got all the attention from the Fairies.  
"First Master! What are you doing here?" Master Makarov asked surprised.  
Mavis frowned and giggled.  
"Ehh? Am I not allowed to watch my favourite guild participate in the Grand Magic Games?" she sighed dramatically.  
"The island is so boring sometimes!"  
Makarov's eyebrow twitched as Mavis's eyes began tearing up.  
"Brats! Cheer her up!" he yelled and returned to watching the Chariot event.

Kurohebi, from Raven Tail, was up front, followed by Ichiya from Blue Pegasus, Yuka from Lamia Scale, Risley from Mermaid Heel and Bacchus from Quatro Cerberus. Sting from Sabertooth fell behind on the last couple of chariot-carts together with Gajeel and Natsu from Fairy Tail A and B Team.  
"Ugh..." Sting grunted as he placed the next foot in front of him. "Can't lose." He gritted his teeth and took another step. Natsu was closing in on the blonde Dragon Slayer.  
"Sting! I ain't letting you finish before me!" He panted and took another step towards Sting.  
"Salamander!" Gajeel barked and increased his pace as well.  
Suddenly the carts crashed into each other and they trio lost their balance. As did few of the other mages on the front carts, where Bacchus had destroyed the one he was standing on.  
"Heh!" He yelled as he raced past Kurohebi, gaining the first place and earning his team 10 points.  
Soon the other mages followed, leaving the three Dragon Slayers for the last places.  
"I ain't gonna lose!" Natsu yelled as he got up and ran for the finish-line.  
"Salamander, you damned-" Gajeel got on his feet and followed the salmon-haired Dragon Slayer to the finish. Leaving Sting to finish last, earning his team 0 points.

"Ha! Flame-brain managed to at least earn us _some_ points." Gray smirked and crossed his arms, looking smugly at the two Dragon Slayers from Fairy Tail who were carried towards the infirmary.  
Lucy chuckled and then fell silent. She noticed the scoreboard and her eyes widened.

 _Sting Eucliffe: Sabertooth – 0 points_

Lucy inhaled sharply and frantically searched the people gathering at the finish line, trying to spot _him.  
_ A small sigh escaped her mouth as she saw him. Sting was okay. At least, he looked okay, but there was something bothering the image. He looked almost... afraid?  
 _Why would he be afraid?_ Lucy thought silently. But was quickly pulled out of her worried thoughts as Gray shook her shoulder gently.  
"Oi! Earth to Lucy..." Gray wove a hand in front of her face and she blinked.  
"Huh?" she responded warily.  
"You wanna go check on them?" Gray asked. Lucy frowned. _Huh? Them? Who?_  
"Natsu and Gajeel." The raven-haired mage answered before she could ask.  
"Oh.. Sure!" She said, how could she forget? They silently headed for the door.

After a couple minutes, Gray broke the silence.  
"Hey Luce.." He stopped in his tracks and looked down at the Celestial mage. Lucy's breath caught as she realised that Gray'd never called her 'Luce' before.  
"Hmm?" she responded to the Ice Mage, not trusting her own voice.  
"Do you ever wonder..." Gray took a deep breath. ".. what would happen if things didn't change?" He looked up to the ceiling.  
"Like, what would've happened if Natsu hadn't found you. You'd probably have come across Fairy Tail in the end, but... Would there even be a Team Natsu, if you did? Or would we all have been so close?" He looked down at Lucy again, her mouth was shaped in a soft 'O', she probably hadn't expected this turn of events. Her mouth suddenly snapped shut and she scowled.  
"So you're saying that you'd rather not have me as a member of Fairy Tail? That you'd wish Natsu hadn't come across me back then?" she crossed her arms.  
"Way to ruin the mood, Gray." She spat at him. Gray's eyes widened in surprise. Is that what she thought he'd meant? _But that's not want I wanted!  
_ "No.." he whispered. "No, Luce. That's not it at all!" He closed his eyes, when he opened them again Lucy stared up at him expectantly.  
"Then.. what is?" she unfolded her arms and her eyes turned gentler as she gazed into his eyes.  
Her eyes were so perfect, he'd always found them the prettiest of all her features. He couldn't resist the look in them as they locked with his own eyes.  
"Luce.." Gray's voice broke, just as his control. He reached up to cup Lucy's cheeks with both hands and planted a firm kiss on her lips.  
He felt her shock, felt her body going rigid under his touch. But he wouldn't stop, he would wait for her answer. Whether it would be _yes_ or _no_.

Lucy hesitated, but finally swung her arms around Gray's neck and he gasped into her mouth. His tongue found its way past her lips and she moaned quietly when his icy hands slipped under her shirt. Lucy's hands grasped Gray's hair as his hands ran over her sides and came to rest on her hips. His mouth left hers as he grazed her neck with kisses.  
Lucy closed her eyes at the sensation and a fluttering image of a blonde Dragon Slayer crossed her mind. Her eyes snapped open and she pulled away.  
Gray frowned at her, waiting for an explanation, but none came. Lucy bit her lip and looked at him.  
"I'm so sorry." She whispered and pushed past Gray, running as fast as her legs would carry her.

* _POV change*_

Sting made his way to the rest of Sabertooth's team. He felt the sympathetic stares but he didn't care. All he could think of was how Master Jiemma was going to react on this. He shivered slightly at the thought. Memories from his younger years rushed towards him.

 _"_ _Why didn't you kill it?!" Master Jiemma bellowed at the child in front of him. Sting cowered against the wall, waiting for the painful blows that were soon to come.  
"ANSWER ME!" Master Jiemma yelled and cracked a hand across Sting's face.  
"It was a man, Master. I-I can't kill an innocent man!" the little Dragon Slayer whimpered.  
"Innocent? Innocent?! What do you mean innocent?!" Jiemma cracked his knuckles and Sting visibly paled.  
"He hadn't done anything wrong, he obeyed our commands." He said, not daring to break eye contact with Sabertooth's Master.  
"That does not mean he was innocent! Fool!" Jiemma hit Sting's jaw and the little blonde slumped against the wall.  
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... sorry.." he kept whispering until Jiemma was out of sight._

Sting's breath came quicker and he was breathing hard as he neared the other guild members from his team. He slowed his breathing and made sure he looked normal, creating an extra wall around himself.

"Sting." Rogue said as his fellow Dragon Slayer approached.  
"Rogue." Sting answered. He looked from Rogue to the rest of the group. Concern painting their stern masks. He heaved a sigh.  
"Guys, I'm just gonna clear my mind before reporting to.." He swallowed. "..Master Jiemma." Everyone paled at that statement and nodded in response. Sting left without another word.

* * *

 **Okaay so that's another chapter! It's kinda late but I still have to watch the newest Fairy Tail episode! AHH it's soooo AWESOME! WOOHH ^w^**

 **Hmm, anyway; tell me what you think! Please do leave a review :3**

 **Love y'all**

 **-Fanfic Devil, out!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I actually still don't own Fairy Tail, no surprises there. *le sigh***


	9. Chapter 9

**Heyaa y'all! I'm back again!**

 **Sorry for having no actual update scheme and uploading at random times ... please don't hate me . And I'm sorry for that one guest who thought I'd stopped writing this story! I didn't and I won't! Not until I'm satisfied with the ending, that is :3**

 **Hope all of you fanficties like this chapter! *WINK WINK***

* * *

Lucy just kept running and running, not thinking, jut looking at her feet as she ran through the empty halls of the Arena. Her mind was a blurry mess, images of both Gray and Sting were running through every inch of her brains. She swallowed a lump of guilt as she turned another corner. The halls hopefully taking her further away from the raven-haired mage.

 _No._ She couldn't face _him_ , not after what happened. Just not right now. Probably not for a while, either.  
She suddenly bumped into something and she stumbled backwards, almost losing her balance but she felt two familiar hands steady her. She looked down at the hands keeping her in place.  
They were two familiar hands indeed. She couldn't shake off the feeling of them on her skin. The burning sensation that had pleasurable chills running down her back. The little scars across their otherwise smooth surface.

"Lucy?" Sting breathed as he held the Celestial mage steady. She was panting and a trickle of sweat ran down from her temple to her neck, where it disappeared under the neckline of her shirt, probably sliding over the soft skin of her –. He swallowed.  
 _Shit, Sting. Get your shit together!  
_ "S-Sting?" Lucy asked in disbelief. Her breathing was still uneven and a panicked look clouded her brown eyes. She moved her trembling hand to touch Sting's cheek and it remained there when she spoke softly.  
"Sting." Lucy bit her lip and removed her hand. Sting frowned at her.  
"Lucy, what's wrong?" he asked cautiously. The other mage just shook her head.  
"I-it's nothing, really.." She smiled politely up at Sting but he shook his head, not taking no for an answer.  
"You could just tell me, you know?" He said with a grin, but Lucy remained silent, she looked away from him and shook her head.  
"Why not? Did anything happen?" Sting stood still, raking his mind for possible explanations of her behaviour.  
"I told you... It's nothing!" Lucy suddenly yelled, clenched fists by her side.  
"Nothing you need to know of!" Lucy added angrily. Sting took a step back and a look of hurt crossed his features.  
"I do, actually! I do _need_ to know!" Lucy eyed Sting angrily and her eyes softened.  
"I.." Lucy tried but her voice caught.  
"Can't you just tell me what's wrong!" He pleaded softly as his hands flew to her face, roughly cupping her cheeks.  
"Who said anything is wrong?" Lucy tried sarcastically, placing a rather fake smile on her face. Sting felt a growl rise in his throat.  
"I swear to whatever god is up there, Lucy! _Who_ did _what_?!" Lucy's eyes cast down. There was a long pause before she broke the silence.  
"Sting... you're hurting me." She whispered as she placed her delicate hands over Sting's. He reluctantly let go of her.

Lucy took a deep breath. The situation certainly didn't lead to the outcome she'd hoped for. And she had to tell Sting _eventually._ Right?  
"I'm sorry... I'm making such a big deal out of this, while it probably isn't that much of a problem and it didn't mean anything, too. So I guess it's alright, but –" Lucy's rambling was cut off as Sting's lips crashed down on hers.  
She gasped into his mouth and he took the opportunity to bite her lip playfully. He pulled away slightly.  
"Just... tell me." Sting whispered against Lucy's skin. She sighed. _Here goes to nothing._  
"Gray.." Sting looked up to meet her eyes.  
"Gray?" He questioned surprised. Lucy nodded once and continued.  
"He.. uh.. we were going to check on Natsu and Gajeel. But on our way there he suddenly stopped and he asked me if I ever wondered what things would be like if they didn't change." She swallowed and looked down.  
"At first I didn't really understand and I thought he didn't want me in the guild at all, and that he was just wondering out loud... about how the guild would've been if I weren't part of it." Lucy heard Sting's soft growl and she put an assuring hand on his chest.  
"He didn't mean it like that though.. He was just asking and I interpreted it wrongly. Then all of a sudden he stood so close to me ... and he.. Sting I swear it was nothing! I was surprised, to say the least. I really didn't see it coming and there was no way to avoid it." She looked up at Sting and her eyes began to burn at the devastating look he gave away.

"Sting! Say something." Lucy grabbed Sting's face between her hands and made him look at her.  
"Did you.." he cleared his throat and continued. "Did you two... did you two kiss?" Lucy's eyes widened and he took that as a yes.  
Though he didn't understand why he was feeling so strange. Lucy said that it was nothing and that she didn't see it coming. _At all._ So that meant Sting had nothing to worry about. Or did he? What if it _was_ intentional? What if they both actually _enjoyed_ it? What if Lucy was just _lying_ right now? What if?  
He shook his head viciously. _No!_ She wasn't like that. Lucy would never...  
Wouldn't she? He didn't know her at all, maybe it was just who she was. Maybe this was truly her.  
"Sting..." Lucy whispered softly as she gazed into Sting's eyes. She gently traced a thumb over his lips.  
"It's nothing.. Just.." She took a deep breath and rested her forehead against his shoulder.  
"Just trust me."  
Sting's thought came to a stop and all he heard was the beating of his heart and the faint ringing in his ears.  
 _T-trust?_ Lucy circled her arms around Sting and hugged him tightly. Sting's breath caught in his throat as he embraced the Celestial mage.  
"Trust..." he whispered and shook his head. _Definitely not,_ he thought. He remembered the times he'd trusted people around him. All it did was give him scars, ugly memories and a faint distrust in people's true intentions, but those were well hidden behind the walls surrounding him. Giving no sight of the real Sting. He was sure he would not just break those layers down to trust this one person.  
Or would he?

* _POV change*_

"Shit!" Gray cursed as he turned another corner. He'd lost sight of the petite blonde. He spun his heels and decided to head back to the rest of the guild.  
"Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid." Gray kept muttering to himself as he strolled through the many halls.  
Oh god, what had he done? Something so impulsive! How could he even live with himself! That was totally _wrong!_ The raven haired mage sighed and found himself in front of the balcony doors. He swiftly pushed them open and roamed his brains for an excuse regarding Lucy's absence.  
"Oi! Pervert! You're shirt's gone!" Natsu barked as soon as Gray had entered. His brow twitched. _Cinder breath! Why you..._ Gray took a deep breath before he could fall out against the Dragon Slayer. He strode over to Natsu and pointed at his chest, that was visible between the cracks of his jacket.  
"Watch your ashy mouth, Flame Brain! Look who's the pervert!" He poked Natsu in his chest and turned around to leave.  
He couldn't stand the crowdedness of the balcony and everyone yelling. Gajeel was probably still at the infirmary so no one would notice Gray's absence. Especially not Natsu, Gray bet he didn't care at all.  
Gray just wanted some silence for once. He just wanted to clear his mind.  
 _Lucy, god dammit!  
_ Gray shook his head and headed to the exit.

 _*Time skip: Night in Crocus (I think that was the town where the GMG were held but PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong .) *_

Sting had one arm slung over the waist of the figure next to him, they were both laying on the bed and were lost in thoughts. Suddenly the door to Sting's hotel room opened.  
"Oi! Rogue, have you seen Sting-kun anywhere?" Sting heard Lector's voice and he stiffened. _Crap!_ He hadn't thought about that yet. Lucy turned her head towards Sting and raised a brow. He smiled apologetically and Lucy giggled silently despite herself.  
"Sting?" A masculine voice called. _Oh no, Rogue. That's not good._  
"Rogue! Hi! Didn't think you'd be home this early! Ha ha.." _Fuck, this won't do.  
_ "I am, in fact, late. That is, because I was up and around looking for you. Master Jiemma was requesting your presence." Rogue said, his tone bored but slightly anxious as he neared the bed.  
Sting froze. _No... no no no no, not Jiemma._ He felt a cool hand on his cheek and he looked up. Lucy's eyes were concerned but he just shook his head.  
'It's nothing.' He tried to say with his eyes, but seen the look on Lucy's face, he failed miserably.  
"Sting? Were you sleeping?!" Rogue asked, he was almost standing next to the bed and would soon spot the Celestial mage that lay beside Sting. The blonde Dragon Slayer was desperately trying to come up with a solution

"Hey! Rogue, right?" Lucy unexpectedly spoke up and was rewarded by Sting's shocked stare.  
"Who –" Rogue began but Lucy cut him off.  
"Lucy Heartfilia! Nice to meet you!" She said as cheerful as she could. She crawled over Sting and got out of the bed and walked towards the other Dragon Slayer. She politely shook his hand.  
"You are?" Lucy motioned for Rogue to introduce himself, which he did, of course.  
"What were you doing here? If I may ask?" Rogue asked as he eyed Sting.  
"Fro wants to know, too!" A little exceed next to Rogue asked. He was clutching the robe that hung loosely from Rogue's shoulder.  
"AAWHH!" Lucy squealed loudly and crouched in front of the exceed.  
"Who is this little guy!" She squeaked as she pinched Fro's cheeks. Clearly trying to distract Rogue.  
"Froshj ish Froshj" The exceed tried to say. Lucy let go, frowning.  
"Frosch, huh? Awhh! You look like a cute frog!" She reached for the exceed and squeezed it tightly in her arms.  
"Fro thinks so too!" Frosch said happily.

"Sting..." Rogue started but Sting held up a hand, silencing him. He watched as Lector joined Lucy and Frosch in their conversation. He noticed how Lucy tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.  
"I know..." Sting said softly. Rogue snorted.  
"You know that Master Jiemma is going to beat you to pulp and you haven't even told _her."_ He said, pointing at the Celestial mage.  
"I-I... Rogue she'll be safe. I promise. Jiemma wouldn't dare to lay a hand on her. I swear I won't let that happen." Sting sighed and looked up at his fellow Dragon Slayer.  
"Yes, yes. You expect me to vow or something? Of course I'd look after someone else's mate. That's just our nature. Especially for a brother, you know that." Rogue looked intently at Sting and smirked.  
"What were you doing anyway?" The dark haired mage wiggled his brows and burst out laughing at Sting's failing attempts to assure him that _nothing_ happened.  
"I'm serious Rogue! Nothing happened, for god's sake!" Sting yelled, his pointy canines standing out. Rogue just laughed a bit more before earning himself a slap on the back of his head.  
"Hmm? Would you've liked to join? _."_ Lucy whispered in his ear. Rogue blushed furiously and looked away as the two blondes burst out laughing.

* * *

 **Heh. Tell me how this chapter was! Was it too dramatic? Too cheesy? Idk just saying... Please please please leave me a review!**

 **ANYWAY, THEY REALLY DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! I swear! Cross my heart and hope to die.**

 **As for** **johanvy-chan** **I really hope you enjoyed Frosch and Lucy interaction! There will be more! Of course :3**

 **-Fanfic Devil, out! ^w^**

 **DISCLAIMER: Okay, I really don't know how many times I have to mention this but I really don't own Fairy Tail!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hellooo y'all! I'm back ^w^**

 **First things first: This is the 10th chapter! ^w^ I'm SO happy hehehh**

 **ANd I think I won't be able to update for at least two weeks...  
Since it's my autumn break next week I'm going to visit my exchange partner in Germany, who has pretty much become family. And after that I'll be busy planning things for my Halloween-party! YAY**

 **Anyway, don't worry about it! I'll still be updating after that, so yeah...**

 **BRACE YOURSELVES FOR THIS CHAPTER**

 **Enjoy it, fanficties!**

* * *

Gray groaned in protest when his alarm clock rang. With a smack, he silenced the object.  
Rolling over to his other side, so he could look out of the window, he savoured the momentary state of blankness in his mind. Soon he was overwhelmed by the sense of rejection.  
Lucy hadn't felt the same for him.  
That's it then. He couldn't just get back there on the team and pretend like nothing happened. Right? Maybe Lucy was capable of doing that, but Gray... Gray wasn't sure if he could hide all of it, from everyone. Sure, he felt like crap but he didn't want the guild to worry about him. It was just something he wasn't used to feeling, period.  
"Shit." Gray mumbled and got out of bed. Struggling to get his tired bones moving. He finally managed to get under the shower and let out a satisfied moan ( **a/n:** Sorry I don't normally do this but seriously imagine it. Gray. Shower. Moan. *faints*)  
He quickly dried off and put on his clothes. After checking the time, he decided it was early enough for a quick run to the café for a morning coffee.

* _POV change*_

Lucy stirred in her sleep which made the blonde Dragon Slayer, who had already been awake for a couple of hours, look down at the sleeping mage. She was curled in a ball against his side, one arm clutched to herself and the other swung loosely over his chest. With every breath she took, he could feel it tickle his skin. It made him shiver with anticipation.  
Sting slowly traced a finger from her forehead to her jaw-line, making the Celestial Mage frown in her sleep.  
"St..ing?" Lucy murmured sleepily. Her eyes clouded with tiredness when she looked up to meet Sting's gaze.  
"Morning" Sting said and averted his gaze. He stared out the window and looked at the morning sky. The oranges and pinks overlapping with blues and purples.  
"Hey.. What's wrong?" Lucy nudged him. Sting sighed and closed his eyes.  
"I lost points yesterday." He stated and opened his eyes to look at the Celestial Mage.  
"The guild Master wants to... _talk_ to me."

Lucy's eyes widened at the silent implication. _What does he mean? "wants to_ talk _"  
_ He couldn't mean...  
"D-does your Master punish those who loose points during the Games?" Lucy asked cautiously and at the sight of Sting's defeated face she stiffened.  
" _Sting!"_ she hissed.  
"Why didn't you _tell_ me?! You can't go... He-he..." Lucy fell silent when the Dragon Slayer's eyes cast down in surrender.  
"Please.. Lucy, don't." He looked away.  
"Maybe.. maybe I can _help..."_ Lucy whispered.  
"No." Sting said abruptly.  
"I-I want to keep you out of this.. Jiemma, I mean _Master_ wouldn't hesitate to use you as a motivation for me to not fail again."  
"But –" Lucy tried, but was cut off by a low growl.  
" _Lucy."_ Sting grabbed her chin to get her attention. He crashed his lips down on hers and they soon enveloped in a deep kiss.  
Sting lifted himself atop Lucy and traced his tongue over her lower lip, a silent request which Lucy granted with a moan as her hands raved over his naked torso.  
Their tongues were dancing until one took the lead. Sting's hands found their way under the Celestial Mage's shirt and his soft scarred hands traced every inch of the bare skin underneath. Only stopping to cup the sides of her breasts roughly, to which Lucy let out a pleased gasp. She hooked her legs around his hips, savouring the feeling in her abdomen, losing all knowledge of place and time.

"Sting? Have you got any idea what..." The door to Sting's hotelroom opened and Rogue stepped inside.  
"..time it is?!" Rogue looked up to see Sting and Lucy in a tangle of limbs and it took him several awkward moments before he blushed furiously.  
"Wha.. Uhm.. I-I didn't..." he stuttered and abruptly snapped his mouth shut. He reopened the door and made a run for it.  
Sting looked up to where Rogue had stood just a second ago. Frowning he looked back at Lucy, who had burst out laughing.  
"Guess we scared him off, huh?" She cocked her head and untangled herself from Sting who went and grabbed her face, making her look at him.  
"Promise me.." his voice was low and urgent, making shivers run down Lucy's back.  
"Promise me that you won't do anything impulsive." Lucy looked at Sting wide-eyed. He was looking so intently at her that her throat caught. She nodded and kissed him. When she pulled back he looked relieved and she smiled mentally at his antics.

"I think I should go.. " Lucy started after a while and suddenly clasped a hand in front of her mouth.  
"Erza! She is _so_ going to kill me! I haven't even told her where I was! And I can't tell her that I spent the night _here!_ Oooohh _Mavis!"_ Lucy got out of bed quickly and began searching the room frantically for her stuff, while Sting just sat back on the bed to watch his Celestial Mage stress out. He chuckled at her typical behaviour.  
 _Wait. What? 'My Celestial Mage' again?! Geez..._

* _Time Skip: At the Grand Magic Games.*_

"Sorry Erza! I promise I won't do it again!" Lie. Such an outright lie, but Lucy told it anyway, hoping that the Titania would let her go.  
"Hmm." Erza said as she crossed her arms, eyeing Lucy up and down, which caused the blonde mage to fidget nervously.  
"Alright. _But_ you will _not_ get away with this !" Erza narrowed her eyes and Lucy gulped.  
"Aye, sir!" she managed to say.  
"Anyway, after you left yesterday the one-on-one matches began. Would you like to catch up?" Erza asked and continued without giving Lucy and actual choice.  
"First: Kurohebi vs. Toby. There was some ranting about a sock but Kurohebi was the winner."  
"A sock?" Lucy asked incredulous, but got no answer from the redhead.  
"Second: Bacchus vs. Elfman. They –" Erza got cut off by Elfman.  
"He is not _manly!"_ he bellowed and huffed, sending a glare across the Arena towards the alcoholic.  
" Indeed, he is not. He was betting on winning." Lucy frowned.  
"At what cost?" she asked, glancing at Elfman anxiously.  
"If Bacchus won he'd get one night with the Strauss sisters and otherwise his guild would be called 'Quatro Puppy' instead of 'Quatro Cerberus'" Erza nodded towards the score board and when Lucy looked she couldn't resist a giggle from escaping her lips. Right there, under Lamia Scale was _Quatro Puppy_.

"Okay.. so Elfman won that one. Way to go, Elfman!" Lucy cheered.  
"I'm a _man!"_ he said in response.  
"Yes. Well, third: A magnificent 'battle' really; The girls from all guilds were showing off in their bikinis!" Macoa and Wakaba stared off dreamily as Erza explained in _exact_ detail how it happened.  
"Aw.. I would've actually liked to participate in that one..." Lucy mumbled under her breath but motioned for Erza to continue.  
"There weren't only bikinis but also wedding dresses..." the redheaded requip mage clasped her hands in front of her chest and sighed.  
"That was truly amazing! Everyone wore a wedding dress _as_ did their temporary partners!" Titania squealed and sighed again.  
"After that came the fourth match: Kagura vs. Yukino." Lucy's eyes widened and wrung her hands impatiently. _Yukino,_ she thought. _Yeah she's the Celestial Mage from Sabertooth.  
_ "The winner was Kagura! It was amazing how she could fight without even once drawing her katana!" Erza said excitedly.  
"W-what about the Celestial Mage?" Lucy asked carefully, dreading the anxious feeling in her stomach. _Had another Sabertooth member failed?_  
"Hmm.. How do you know she's a Celestial Mage?" Erza inquired and Lucy shrugged.  
"I did my research, that's all." The redhead nodded and continued.  
"Well, she was strong. Definitely. She has possession of the 13th key of the Zodiac belt. And–" Lucy cut her off.  
"WHAT?! The.. the-the-the-the _thirteenth key of the Zodiac belt?_ I thought that was just another story but omygosh!" the blonde Celestial Mage shrieked.  
"Yes, I did too. Now calm down. It seems it's not just another tale anymore." Erza said and rambled on.

Lucy thought about this for a second. So Yukino, another Sabertooth mage had lost a one-on-one match and Sting had failed to overcome his motion sickness during the Chariot event.  
As things added up, Lucy thought that the worst outcome for Sting would be punishment since he couldn't really do anything about his motion sickness. But Lucy feared the worst for her fellow Celestial Mage, after having heard that she and Kagura had betted on their lives. And seen as Kagura was the winner... it puts Yukino's life in her hands.  
Lucy cringed as she realised just what that meant. Sabertooth's Master probably would _not_ agree to this and the worst case scenario would be her leaving Sabertooth, or being kicked out for that matter.  
Lucy sighed. _Right now, I've gotta focus._  
Just then Gray barged onto the balcony, shirtless as always and a coffee in his hand. He grinned at the group but his smile faded as his eyes met Lucy's.  
Lucy sighed inwardly. _Great._

* * *

 **Okay! That's it! I hope to do a quick update at the end of this week before I leave to Germany!**

 **Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Rogue really enters a scene at the weirdest moments :/ Well he's still cute sooo... :3**

 **Please leave a review because y _our review is my drug_** ***reference to Ke$ha-Your Love is My Drug, DAMN that song is soooo freaking old!***

 **-Fanfic Devil, outta here!**

 **DISCLAIMER: Yet again, I'm sad to announce that I have no right to say I own Fairy Tail...**


	11. Chapter 11

**Ohiyaaa! I think this'll be my last update for two weeks? Idk.. maybe I'll try and write a bit in Germany... hmm not sure :/**

 **Btw, did I tell you that I** ** _might_** **not be doing the Eclipse part . I'm just not too keen on writing it... Guess we'll see!**

 **Anyway, please enjoy this chapter my fanficties :3**

* * *

Lucy had been silent and thoughtful during the Games that day and Gray was starting to worry. Maybe she _was_ feeling something after all and was she not able to handle it at _that_ time.  
 _Shit Gray, don't get your hopes up, dammit.  
_ Gray sighed and zoned out of the conversation. They were talking about Erza defeating all 100 monsters in Pandemonium. It _was_ amazing though, he thought, how Erza exercised her right to fight all 100 monsters in one go and how she managed to do so, too.  
His gaze slowly drifted towards the blonde Celestial Mage that was staring at the Arena floor. A frown was plastered on her face as she watched Laxus getting beat up. Gray frowned too, something was wrong with the very thought of it.  
Laxus would _never_ take a beating, _especially_ not from some Raven Tail mage.

Lucy squinted at the scene in front of her. Was Laxus actually _losing?_ Lucy frowned. _Impossible._ But it seemed like it anyway. She watched with dread as Laxus took another hit and was sent flying across the Arena, crashing into a wall.  
Suddenly the scene changed and out of nowhere a second Laxus appeared and the one that crashed into the wall vanished, together with the Raven Tail mage that was supposedly winning the fight.  
Laxus rammed a lightning covered fist into Raven Tail's master, who had somehow managed to participate with his team. The man flew back and smashed into a heap of other teammates that Laxus had clearly disposed of earlier.  
An awkward silence fell over the audience and mages until the crowd went wild and cheered for their winner.  
"W-winner-kaboo: Laxus Dreyar ...of Fairy Tail B-Team!" the pumpkin man yelled and the Fairy Tail cheered with the crowd.  
Lucy sighed in relief and scanned the balconies of other guilds, searching for one particular mage.  
Finally Lucy's eyes caught sight of the blonde Dragon Slayer, but he seemed down in a way. He wasn't looking anywhere in particular and Lucy frowned, she looked at the rest of his team for any clues.  
Rogue's face was a mask but it was similar to Sting's. Rufus was unreadable as always and Orga seemed ready to crack some bones in the person next to him.  
 _Huh? Where.. is Yukino?  
_ Lucy squinted but couldn't see her fellow Celestial mage anywhere. Instead she looked straight into the eyes of a blackhaired mage. Lucy's eyes widened in fear as the woman shot daggers at her. She quickly averted her gaze.  
Was that Yukino's replacement? Had Lucy been right about her getting kicked out of Sabertooth? Should she go check on the girl, or would that cause more trouble?  
Being the kindhearted girl that she was Lucy decided to visit Yukino. The Games were to end soon for today anyway.  
She swiftly got off her chair and headed out the door, unaware of Gray's questioning look.

* _Time skip: Lucy comes across Yukino*_

Lucy had been strolling the city streets towards Sabertooth's inn, when she came across a coffee bar and decided that one cup of coffee wouldn't do any bad.  
Once she'd entered, she saw the white haired Celestial mage sitting in a corner, staring out the window off in the distance.  
Lucy ordered her coffee and walked over to the girl's booth.  
"Hey! Yukino, right?" Lucy greeted cheerfully and asked if she could take place. Yukino simply nodded and motioned for Lucy to sit down.  
"Um, you're..." Yukino spoke quietly and frowned. She looked up apologetically.  
"I'm sorry, I don't seem to recognise you from anywhere." Lucy shook her head and smiled politely.  
"That's okay! I'm Lucy." Yukino looked up in amazement.  
"R-really? You're the mage who holds possession of 10 keys of the Zodiac?" she asked in awe. Lucy hummed and unclasped her key-ring from her side, showing her keys towards the other girl.  
"O-oh, it's actually quite a coincidence that I've come across you." Yukino spoke softly and rummaged through her purse.  
"I.. have been wanting to ask you..." she put her own keys on the table and bowed her head.  
"Please accept my keys, Lucy-sama!" she spoke in a rush.  
Lucy's eyes widened.  
"W-what? That's n –" Lucy was cut off as the other girl began talking again.  
"I think you must've heard that I miserably failed to win my one-on-one match yesterday. So Master has... _politely_ asked me to leave Sabertooth." Yukino dipped her head in shame.  
"Politely?" Lucy questioned. How on Earth-land could Sabertooth's Master ever be described as 'polite'.  
"Yes." Was Yukino's short answer and just as Lucy was about to ask her to define _politely_ , she was interrupted.

"Luce!" Natsu yelled from the entrance of the coffee bar. He wrinkled his nose and walked over to where Lucy was seated.  
"Hey! How ar –" He froze midway his sentence as he noticed the other girl sitting at the table.  
" _You!_ You're from Sabertooth! What the hell are you doin' here?!" Natsu yelled furiously, barely able to control his fire.  
"I.. I was just.." Yukino spoke quietly.  
"Natsu! Behave yourself! She was telling me something, please just hear her out!" Lucy yelled at the Dragon Slayer.  
"Natsu.. she's serious.." Happy said from his spot on Natsu's shoulder.  
"A-aye..." the salmon haired mage responded and seated himself next to Lucy.  
"U-um.. " Yukino started but Lucy spoke before she could finish.  
"Please continue, Yukino.." She smiled brightly and took a sip of her coffee that was starting to get cold.  
"A-alright. I just really wanted you to take my keys.. since.. I don't feel myself worthy of a Celestial Mage anymore. A-and Sabertooth has made that quite.. clear, too." Yukino said softly, her head still dipped towards the table.  
"What?!" Natsu asked incredulous. He glanced at Lucy and then at the white haired girl opposite him.  
"Did Sabertooth kick you out?! What the hell? They can't just do that!" he yelled. Yukino cringed and looked up.  
"I-I had been and still am weak... I deserve to no longer be a part of their guild." She stated. Lucy took in a sharp breath and took Yukino's keys.  
"Yukino, look at these." She said while holding the key-ring up.  
" _They_ do _not_ think you're weak! _They_ trust you and are willing to stand by your side _at all times!"_ Lucy gritted her teeth to not burst at the other Celestial Mage.  
"Please, I think that they wouldn't like the fact of someone else taking over their keys." She tossed the keys towards Yukino who stared at Lucy in shock.  
"L-Lucy-sama... I don't know wha-" said mage held up a hand and smiled politely.  
"Maybe Sabertooth have turned their back on you, but your Spirits definitely won't." Yukino's eyes began to water and Lucy rushed over to the other side of the table, shooing Natsu away in the process. She went and hugged Yukino tightly who was now full-out sobbing, keys clasped to her chest.

"Seriously... _How_ can Sabertooth do that?! She's a _friend._ A _family member_ for Mavis's sake!" Natsu said through gritted teeth. His former reaction to the girl forgotten.  
"Happy stay here, I'm just gonna go... check on something." Happy frowned but nodded and continued eating the fish he'd somehow managed to smuggle inside the coffee bar. After a while Lucy noticed the Dragon Slayer's absence and asked Happy about it, who simply shrugged.  
"Hmm, weird. Anyway, Yukino? Do you have a place to stay?" Lucy asked carefully.  
Yukino wiped her face and shook her head.  
"Oh that's alright, you can stay with us for tonight, that okay?"  
"Yes! Thank you so much Lucy-sama!" Yukino hugged the blonde Celestial mage tightly again before they decided to go back to Fairy Tail's hotel.

 _*POV change/Time skip: Sabertooth's inn*_

Sting was lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling for no particular reason when a loud roar broke the silence. He shot up and strained his ears for any sound of danger.  
" _...Not how you treat a guild-mate! ... Gonna pay!"_ Sting frowned. Was that who he thought it was?  
 _No,_ that's not possible. Or... was it?  
Sting sprinted out his hotel room, not bothering to stop and see if his twin Dragon Slayer was following. Once he got downstairs he stopped dead in his tracks.  
 _Natsu Dragneel.  
_ Sting's eyes widened. It was definitely him. Natsu. No doubt the impulsive Fire Dragon Slayer, he had looked up to.  
"Sting." Rogue growled behind him and he blinked.  
"Huh?" he began brightly and the Dragon Slayer behind him sighed.  
"Do. Something. _Now._ " Sting nodded grimly and stepped forward to attack the salmon haired mage from behind.  
Suddenly Natsu growled and attacked Sabertooth's master. Sting froze in his tracks. Silence and gasps ran through the crowded room as Jiemma got a full hit in the chest and fell backwards.  
Just as his back was about to hit the ground, a translucent light erupted and revealed a blackhaired mage who caught the man just in time.  
"Minerva..." Sting whispered under his breath as Rogue came to stand beside him.

Said mage clucked her tongue and lazily scanned the room.  
"Well, well, well. What do we have here? Is my father's guild getting owned by some stupid Fairy?" Minerva laughed. A very unpleasant sound to the sensitive ears of all three Dragon Slayers in the room.  
"Hmm? Oh, how rude of me! I have yet to introduce myself." She said as she eyed Natsu.  
"I'm Minerva Orland. Daughter of Sabertooth's _Master,_ Jiemma." she huffed and crossed her arms.  
"If he can even call himself that." Minerva looked with disgust at her father's unconscious body.  
"And one more thing." She said with a mischievous glint in her emerald eyes that made Natsu clench his jaw.  
"I think this belongs to you.." Minerva moved her hand to reveal a blue-haired exceed inside one of her Territory bubbles. (a/n: Uhmm.. bubbles? Idk another word for it...)  
Natsu sucked in a breath and gritted his teeth, his fists igniting in fire once again.  
"Give. Happy. Back." He ground out.  
Minerva snorted and closed her hand, making Happy gag as ropes were tightly pulled around him.  
"Oh, but I will. Perhaps _after_ I've had my fun with this little guy." She smirked as Happy forsakenly cried out to Natsu.  
"N-Natsu!"

Sting's eyes widened in fear as he reached for Lector, who was hovering above his head and closed him safely between his arms. Rogue did the same, picking up Frosch from the ground and holding him tightly against his chest.  
Both Dragon Slayers could practically _feel_ the hatred in the air. No one, and that meant _no one,_ screws with a Dragon Slayer's exceed.

* * *

 **Eheehh, okay so that was my last update for a while! I reaaaally hoped you enjoyed it :3**

 **I seriously LOVE the connection Dragon Slayers have with their exceed . IT's SO freaking cute!**

 **Oh, well... Pleaseeee leave a review and thanks for reading! ^w^**

 **-Fanfic Devil, out!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own the hotheaded Natsu or any other Fairy Tail characters! *sigh*** ** _I wish..._**


	12. Chapter 12

**Heyaaa y' all! Miss me?**

 **Oh well, anyway... I'M BACK... sorta**

 **Uhm I seriously can't figure out what to do with the whole Eclipse arc and I** ** _need_** **help, so if you have any suggestions; feel free to tell me!**

 **Okay, on with the story! Enjoy, fanficties :3**

* * *

All Minerva wanted was to have a little fun. Just a little fun. Because that's what girls wanted, right? Some _fun.  
_ Well. This was certainly _not_ the type of 'fun' she'd been expecting.  
"Tch... Y-you.." Minerva gasped as a fiery fist connected with her jaw for the third time and she fell back. She narrowed her eyes at the Fire Dragon Slayer and glanced at the blue cat that was hanging on to his back.  
"You think... you will stand a chance against _me?_ Daughter of Sabertooth's –" the blackhaired mage was cut off as Natsu charged at her, cursing her all the way.  
"Less talking, more fighting. Because I want to get this over, _quick!"_ he yelled angrily. Minerva held back a scream as his attack hit her right in the chest and stumbled backwards.  
"Why, you pesky little Fairy! I _will_ –" Again, Minerva was cut off. But not by Natsu this time.

"I suggest you stop this foolishness. Immediately, or I will take matters in my own hands." Came the icy voice from the figure standing next to Minerva, sword around her neck and pinning the blackhaired mage in place.  
Minerva chuckled.  
"Do you really think you're allowed to interfere?" she smirked but gasped when the steel pressed into the fragile skin, allowing a thin red line to appear, matching with the hair of the woman standing behind her.  
"I make no jokes in desperate times."  
"Erza!" Natsu yelled, angry but glad, to see the mage, at the same time. Erza gave Natsu a deadly glare before glancing at each individual Sabertooth mage.  
"All of you will _not_ speak about this incident. As will you keep your Master and his daughter in check." She was rewarded by solemn nods and fearful gazes.  
"Alright." Erza released Minerva and, turning towards Natsu, slid the sword back in its sheath.  
"We leave. _Now."_ The redheaded mage said as she dragged Natsu by his collar towards the exit of the guild.

After a while Erza let go of the salmon haired mage and spun him around.  
"Natsu." She hissed and locked her stern glare with his own fearful ones.  
"Why did you attack their guild, Natsu? _Why?!"_ she spat. Natsu's eyes grew wide with fury once again.  
"They let down one of their _own!"_ he growled, fists igniting in fire once again.  
"They just let Yukino down! Telling her she'd _failed._ Their Master embarrassed her in front of _everyone._ He made her remove the guildmark _with her own magic_!" Natsu was blazing with rage and fire. Desperate to return there and smash some sense into every single one of the Sabers.  
"Natsu..." Erza said quietly.  
"I had no knowledge of such information. I understand completely, though that is definitely _not_ an excuse to go out on a rampage!" the Requip Mage said and balled her gloved hands.  
Sighing she tried to regain her focus.  
"Listen... I know that what they did was wrong. Let me suggest something?" Natsu's fire died down and he raised a brow.  
"We could always ask for Yukino to join our guild, since it may seem that she has nowhere else to go. And... she'll be spending the night in Lucy's room anyway." Erza said and the Dragon Slayer noticeably relaxed.  
"Alright! Let's get back!" he said as he lifted, the now asleep, Happy from his shoulder and cradled him in one arm.  
"You go ahead Natsu. I need to pay someone a visit." And with that the scarlet haired mage spun her heals and took off.  
"Hmm? " Happy mumbled, eyes hazed with fatigue and fear. He nudged Natsu's arm.  
"Oh, Happy! You're awake!" Natsu said, obvious relief in his eyes.  
"A-aye, sir!" Happy tried weakly, making Natsu more worried.  
"Oi! Get some sleep and I'll ask Mirajane to make some fish! Or –" Happy shrieked and yelled.  
"FISH!" Natsu grinned and nodded.  
"Yeah! Just how you like it, okay?" the exceed nodded excitedly as he snuggled back in his best friend's arm. He let out a content sigh at the thought of Mira's fish.

* _POV change*_

"Your bad at hiding. I could sense you for the past ten minutes." Erza said, knowing that the caped figure in the shadows knew that she was talking to them. Suddenly a cheery voice broke through the silence.  
"Nyaa! Feelin' spiffy?" the girl in the cape grinned as she pushed back the cap that was hiding her face.  
"Millianna?!" Erza said, eyes wide in both shock and surprise. The girl giggled and flew at the red haired mage, embracing her tightly.  
"Er-chan!" she whined as she was swung around in the air.  
Erza laughed and finally put the girl down.  
"I'm sorry, Millianna. I just... haven't seen you in so long! How's everyone doing?" she asked, indicating the other childhood friends that she'd come across again during the events of the Tower of Heaven.  
Millianna cocked her head and grinned.  
"Dunno. Since I joined the all girls guild, Mermaid Heel, I don't have a lot of contact with Shô and Wally anymore." The girl pouted slightly.  
"I think they're doing fine, really!" Erza said and nudged Millianna.  
"Hmm!" the Binding Mage responded, she looked up at the sky and sighed.  
"Er-chan, let's go for a walk!" Millianna said excitedly, making the strict Titania crack a loving smile at her behaviour.  
"Of course! I'd like to catch up with you." The armour-clad mage started walking, closely followed by Millianna. Both very unaware of the dark shadow that was keeping an eye on them, especially on Erza Scarlet.

* _Time skip: Erza called it a night and is headed towards Fairy Tail's inn.*_

" _The colour of your hair_..." Erza froze in her tracks. She'd just rounded a corner when she heard a faint whisper. She scanned her surroundings but she couldn't sense any presences. Still, she swore she could hear _his_ voice. It was so, so clear in her mind. The memory of him saying those exact words.  
Sighing she blamed her tired mind for making up such nonsense.  
"Seriously..." she muttered, continuing walking down the several blocks to her hotel.

 _Close call, Jellal. Good job!_ The blue haired mage sighed as he shifted from rooftop again. Never losing sight of the redhaired mage beneath him.  
 _Red. The colour of her hair.  
_ Suddenly the ex-council member lost sight of the Requip mage and freaked out. How could he possibly be distracted at such a time?! When it was most dangerous! Seriously. He had to focus and...  
His thoughts trailed off as he recognised a presence behind him, but he was too late to do anything about it.  
 _SMACK  
"_What... J-Jellal?" Erza whispered as she caught the limp figure after ramming a fist into his skull. She looked down at the familiar features of his face. The outstanding patterns around his right eye and the blue locks of hair poking out from under his cap.  
What was he doing here? Was he interested in the Grand Magic Games? Could it be that he had some kind of business to deal with in Crocus? _Why_ exactly was he following her, anyway?  
Carefully, Erza laid him down on the roof, deciding to wait until he woke up. Seeing as his connection with the Magic Council wasn't one of the best at the moment, she thought it'd be better for him to wake up and explain himself to her, rather than the Magic Council.

* _POV change*_

"Oi, Lucy!" Natsu said while walking into her hotel room, not even bothering to knock beforehand. Which he realised he'd regret very soon.  
Lucy came barging out of the shower, wearing a towel only and an rageful expression was painting her features.  
"Natsu Dragneel, you may damn well tell me that there's a _very_ good explanation for the fact that _you didn't knock! Again!"_ Lucy yelled.  
"S-sorry Luce! We won't do it again, right Happy?" Natsu asked the, now awake, exceed.  
"A-aye, sir!"  
"Jeez..." Lucy sighed and stepped back into the bathroom, saying that she was going to get changed.  
"Oh.. and by the way, Yukino will be staying here with me for a while... so, be nice!" Lucy closed the door and locked it. ( **a/n:** I meant 'here' as in the hotel room and NOT the bathroom, you little pervs .')

"Lucy-sama? Lucy-... sama..." Yukino's calls died down when she saw the salmon haired Dragon Slayer standing in the corridor. Her breath caught in her throat when she looked at the person who was willing to fight an entire guild for her. For her embarrassment. Her pain. Her grieve.  
She was quickly pulled out of her thoughts when Natsu spoke up.  
"Oi! Yukino? You have any fish in here? I promised Happy fish." Natsu shrugged apologetically and Yukino giggled.  
"Sure. Do you want me to make something for you guys?" She asked, heading for the kitchen.  
"Yes!" Natsu exclaimed, immediately following.  
"Aye, sir! I'd like raw fish, please." Happy said excitedly, flying after his best friend towards the kitchen.

* * *

 **Okayy heheheh ... That was it :3**

 **I was thinking about making a Halloween one/two-shot since I REALLY FREAKING LOVE HALLOWEEN!**

 **Do you guys have any suggestions for a quick write? I'll write anything! Seriously, you could give me a lemon to write and I'd probably try (and fail miserably).**

 **Well, anyway... pleaaasee leave a review bc I love you ^w^**

 **-Fanfic Devil, out!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Heyaaa! I'M FINALLY BACK \\(^w^)/  
I'm soooo sorry for not writing/updating in sooo long and I feel reaaally bad so here it is you guys!**

 **In case you're wondering, this chapter will** ** _not_** **be a Game-day (is that even a thing) but a sort of 'day off' for the Grand Magic Games :3 I'm not sure but I don't think it was like that in the anime/manga, right?**

 **Anyway, I hope all of you fanficties enjoy this chap ^w^**

* * *

Jellal grunted as he tried to open his eyes and get himself into a sitting position.  
To his surprise, two hands supported him until he was seated.  
"You're alright. I'm relieved." He heard a familiar feminine voice say to him. He quickly turned around to face the person.  
"S-Scarlet? What are you..." Jellal trailed off.  
"I must apologise for knocking you out." Erza said, bowing her head slightly.  
"It's okay, really." The blue haired mage said, scratching his head awkwardly.  
"I bet you're wondering why I was following you, huh?" Erza nodded in response and Jellal sighed.  
"Look, when all of you were presumably dead on that Tenrou Island, there were strange levels of magic around this place during the Grand Magic Games. Me and my guild – you don't know about that? Well, I have a guild called 'Crime Sorcière'. Anyway, this year me and my guild planned on investigating the increasing levels of magical energy and then we heard about Fairy Tail joining this year. So we sorta kept a close eye on all of you this whole time."  
There was a moment of silence before one of them dared to speak up.  
"There's no need to worry about me. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, thank you." Erza crossed her arms and gave a chuckle.  
"As for Fairy Tail, we're quite an independent guild too and we can look after each other." Erza unfolded her arms and held a hand out to Jellal who was still seated on the roof. He gladly took it and helped himself up.  
"Although you say you can look after each other, I know for one that you haven't seen what some of Fairy Tail's members were up to these last couple days." He said with a grin.  
"Oh? And what's that, then?" Erza questioned.  
"Ah well, this Celestial Mage has been quite... _busy,_ I must say." Jellal chuckled and jumped right into explaining the Requip mage what he'd seen.

* _POV change*_

"So how do you like it?" Yukino asked once she'd finished washing off the cooking supplies she'd used for Natsu and Happy's meal.  
"Dewicioush!" Happy cheered with his mouth full of fish.  
"What about you Natsu?" The light blue-haired mage asked, looking at the Dragon Slayer who was devouring his food within seconds. He held up a hand, as if to signal that he'd be done soon, and continued eating for a bit.  
"It was _the_ best meal I've head for _days!"_ Natsu said when he'd finished his plate and leaned back in his chair.  
"Thanks Yukio!" he grinned and folded his hands behind his head.  
"Uhm... Natsu-san..." Yukino started shyly and looked down. "... It's Yuk _ino_ not Yukio." She blushed and cursed her short hair for not being able to cover up her heated cheeks.  
"A-And I'm glad you liked the food."  
There was a moment of silence before the blonde Celestial Mage strolled out of the bathroom. She'd probably showered, since her hair was damp and was wearing her pink PJs.

"Heya, Yu-chan!" Lucy greeted her temporary roommate and walked over to the kitchen table.  
"So they made you cook for them, huh? Jeez... _Natsu!_ You can't just –" Yukino interrupted the other girl before she could kick Natsu out.  
"A-actually ,Lucy-sama... I offered to cook for them, since they were hungry and I wanted to... show my gratitude, in a way." Yukino fidgeted nervously with the hem of her tank-top and Lucy smiled to herself.  
"It's alright, Yukino, don't worry. I thought that maybe these two were bothering you or something." Lucy sighed and sat down in a chair. Yukino followed her lead and shook her head lightly.  
"Oh, no. They didn't, really!" she said and received a toothy grin from Natsu's side.  
"Glad to hear! Well, I gotta go, see ya tomorrow!" Natsu stood up, carrying Happy on his shoulder and made his way over to the door. Before he left he turned around and waved goodbye.  
"Good night, Luce, Yukio!" A soft thud followed after the Dragon Slayer left the room.  
Lucy giggled while Yukino sighed.  
"I told him it was Yuk _ino_ not Yukio."

* _Time skip: The following day/morning at Sabertooth's hotel*_

Sting slowly opened his eyes but immediately shut them again when the blinding sunlight shone through the curtains of his hotel room. He rolled over and let his eyes adjust to the sudden brightness of the room.  
"You finally awake?" Rogue's voice came from the kitchen and Sting set up in bed, the covers gliding off his toned stomach. ( **A/n:** I _know_ I said that I normally don't do this but _seriously!_ Sting. The bed. His abs. *uncontrollable nosebleeds*)  
"Jeez, Rogue... _You_ opened the curtains didn't you?!" Sting growled and got out of bed with a sigh.  
"Good morning to you, too!" the darkhaired Dragon Slayer called out. Sting sighed again and, having only slept in his boxers, put on a pair of sweatpants. He made his way over to the kitchen and took a seat at the table.  
"Couldn't have worn a t-shirt or something?" Rogue remarked when he put a full plate of food in front of his Twin Dragon and continued preparing his own.  
"We're _alone,_ Rogue. Nobody's gonna burst into our room and –" The blonde mage abruptly stopped speaking. As if on cue a person came barging into the room without knocking and both Sting and Rogue found themselves in defensive positions.

"Sting?... Rogue? Fro? Jeez... it's so messy in here, how can they even live with their selves? Anybody in here?"  
Headshaking, the blonde Celestial Mage rounded the corner to the kitchen and squeaked when Rogue pushed her roughly against the wall. Pinning her in place with one hand pressed against her throat and the other ignited with shadows, ready to throw a punch.  
"Rogue!" Sting yelled and stopped the other Dragon Slayer from hitting the girl.  
"L-Lucy-sama?" Rogue uttered before freeing her from his grip.  
"I'm so incredibly sorry, I didn't mean to... well, do _that_." He said awkwardly.  
Lucy shook her head gently and rubbed her painful neck before speaking.  
"I-It's alright! I should've just knocked, I'm sorry." She gave a rueful smile before her gaze met Sting's and then down at his exposed torso.  
"Hm? Like what you see?" Sting teased and Lucy huffed.  
"Tch, don't get ahead of yourself Eucliffe." Lucy grinned but it soon faded when she remembered why she got to the boys' apartment in the first place.  
"I wanted to ask you something." She stated plainly and crossed her arms.  
The two Dragon Slayers shared a look and then nodded approvingly.  
" _Why_ was Yukino ditched by your guild?" Lucy spat, no longer able to control her building anger at Saber's master.  
Rogue froze and stayed silent while Sting shrugged.  
"She probably wasn't good enough, or something." He said. Lucy's anger flared up.  
" ' _Or something?'_ Why wasn't she good enough? She has three Golden Keys, _three!"_ she yelled in frustration.  
"Lucy, why are you getting so fired up? It could've just been about anything! It could've been because she betted _on her life!"_ Sting shouted and regretted that action immediately.  
He shouldn't be yelling at Lucy. He knew that she hated it when men acted superior. Wasn't he doing that now? Wasn't he making her recall moments with her so hated father? The father she'd lost not long ago? He knew what had happened; Lucy had opened up to him completely, while he had only lowered one wall. He would never let down his guard fully, but that didn't mean he couldn't love the girl in front of him. That he couldn't _try._  
He was pretty sure that yelling at one another wasn't going to help him with that process.

Lucy stared in silence at the blonde Dragon Slayer. _What did he say?_ Why would he not care about one of his guild members? Is Sabertooth really like that? Is all they care about; absolute power?  
She took a deep breath and tried to calm down.  
"Yes, she betted on her life. And yes, she lost that bet, but doesn't that mean that you're supposed to be there for her? To comfort her? To ensure that she hasn't failed the guild, _at all?_ Because failing is too big of a word to use in this situation. She just lost a game, that's it. Go tell your master that." With those words Lucy spun her heels and ran out of the room. Out of the hotel. Out of Sabertooth's claws. Which she desperately hoped hadn't affected Sting's heart like it had seemed to have.

* _Short time skip: wandering around Crocus*_

Gray had been out of bed early and to clear his mind, he'd been training. Running around Crocus's perimeters took longer than expected and he finally made his way back to Fairy Tail's inn a little after noon. (12:00pm)  
What he also hadn't been expecting was to come across the blonde Celestial Mage, who was surprisingly looking very miserable for her being. After much internal battle he decided to head over. If not for her well-being, then for his own restless mind.

"I'm surprised you're out here, I thought you couldn't stand the heat?" Lucy greeted, hinting at the warm and humid weather that was typically Crocus.  
"Ah... yeah, I was just heading back to the inn." Gray answered, rubbing his neck awkwardly. _Damn, this is harder than I thought.  
_ "Been training, huh?" Lucy asked, eyeing the raven haired mage up and down.  
"A lot on your mind?" she said quietly and looked down, but Gray could still pick it up. He suddenly grabbed Lucy's wrist and led the protesting mage to an ally along the main road.  
"Lucy... I-I wanted to say sorry for –" Lucy held up a hand and shook her head.  
"Don't be sorry, Gray. If you hadn't acted the way you did, I would have never known your true feelings for me." She averted her gaze and leaned back against the rough stone wall.  
"If anyone were to apologise, it'd be me."  
"Lucy, don't shove this on yourself. Seriously, I'm sorry and I just want to know ... if the fact that you... kissed me back means anything to you." Gray asked, getting more flustered by the minute.  
Lucy glanced at the, now shirtless, Ice mage and realised that she hadn't thought much about the kiss at all. She'd been so consumed with convincing Sting that the kiss had meant nothing. And it really hadn't meant anything. _Right?_ Lucy thought.  
She let the vivid memory pass by once and she shut her eyes tightly. It really _hadn't_ meant anything, right?  
She remembered Gray's vague question, his soft voice when he explained her that it wasn't about him _hating_ her, no, it was about him _loving_ her.  
Lucy remembered how he'd suddenly pushed her against the wall and how he'd smashed his mouth on hers. How he'd tasted and how his icy touch had left her skin tingly for the next hours.  
Suddenly she remembered all the times in the guild, back in Magnolia. How Gray would always drag himself on a job with Team Natsu and how his lopsided grins were often directed at herself. Lucy remembered well, that one time when he'd suffered from heatstroke and how he'd shared his darkest memories with her.

She suddenly felt the weight of all those memories. The weight of a thousand unspoken words, but yet heard in another way. The weight of Gray's love for her and for everything she was. Lucy could _feel_ it. She could feel the weight pressing down on her shoulders now and she had to admit that there was no way that she could deny her love for him.

* * *

 **Tadaaa! So that was another chapter for you guys! I HOPE you liked it :3 And for all the people who specifically asked for another LucyxGray conflict: this was _part_ of it and _more_ is to come next chapter! **

**So stay tuned! AND please please please, leave a nice review bc I love y'all ~(^w^~)**

 **-Fanfic Devil x**

 ***I'm so sorry for any spelling mistakes, typos etc. It's kinda late but I just really wanted to give you this chapter! Aren't I sweet...**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Bunnygirl, Flamebrain, Ice Princess, Metalhead or any other Fairy Tail characters xxx**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hellooo! Is it really true? There's another chapter update,** ** _already?_**

 **Surprise, surprise! The answer is: YES. Some kind of miracle must be happening, huh?**

 **Have fun reading you guys!**

* * *

 _She suddenly felt the weight of all those memories. The weight of a thousand unspoken words, but yet heard in another way. The weight of Gray's love for her and for everything she was. Lucy could feel it. She could feel the weight pressing down on her shoulders now and she had to admit that there was no way that she could deny her love for him._

Love. Lucy loved Gray, but did she love him the same way he loved her? Wasn't it just sisterly love she felt for him? The kind of love she felt around her other guild mates? Around her _family?_ Gray didn't just love Lucy like that, right? He wanted more. More than just friendship. Was this love different from what Lucy felt for Sting? Or was it just the situation that led to her conclusion? What exactly _did_ she feel for Sting? Didn't she run away from him not long ago?  
All these questions made Lucy's head spin. She had too many doubts and too many unrequited pleads for answers. Too many feelings that were flooding her senses and all she could do was to act in the heat of the moment.  
Though she immediately regretted acting the way she did, because she was kissing Gray. Again. And she ended up with much more heavy feelings than before.

Lucy got lost in the sensation of Gray's cold hands on both her shoulders and his surprisingly warm lips on hers. She felt his hands move down her arms and his tongue was silently asking permission to enter.  
Just as she was about to grant it, a heavy feeling pressed down on her heart and she pushed Gray away in one swift, yet rough, motion.  
"L-Lucy?" the Ice mage breathed when he found his posture again. Lucy wiped at her cheeks that were now stained with wet trails of tears.  
"I-I'm sorry Gray, I... I can't..." she heaved a frustrated sigh and bit her lip.  
"Look, Gray... I do l-love you, but I can only love you as a friend. As family. It's just..." Lucy threw her hands up and silenced a sob.  
"I-It's just that I can't see someone other than a brother in you and... I'm so sorry." She spun her heels and ran. Not looking back to see the mess she'd left behind. The fallen Fairy, broken and torn apart by a love he'll never get.

* _Time skip: a little past 9:00pm*_

After many allies and corners, running up and down staircases and strolling through the Royal Gardens to clear her mind, Lucy found herself in front of Fairy Tail's inn. Strangely enough, she didn't feel as invited as she always did once she was around her family. She silently opened the backdoor and tiptoed inside, careful to not make a single noise.  
Lucy walked up the many stairs to her shared room with Erza, Cana, Levy, Juvia, Charle and Wendy. She heaved a sigh and opened the door quietly, praying to Mavis, that nobody would be inside the room.

"Lucy-san?" a tiny voice came from across the dark room the Celestial Mage had just stepped in.  
 _Crap,_ Lucy thought.  
"Yeah?" she hesitantly began as she fumbled for the light switch.  
"L-Lucy-san..." Lucy froze in her process once she heard the fragile voice and immediately headed over to the girl on the furthest bed near the window.  
"Wen? What's wrong?" Lucy asked and sat down on the bed besides the young Dragon Slayer.  
"Uhm... i-it's nothing!" Wendy quickly hid her face in her pillow and stayed still.  
Lucy looked down fondly at the curled up girl and laid a gentle hand on top of her blue head.  
"It's alright, you know? You can tell me anything." She said and Wendy peeked out from beneath her hair.  
"Lucy-san, I... I don't think that Sherria... like-likes me." The girl hiccupped and hid her face again to stifle a sob.  
"Really? That's stupid." Lucy mused and tapped her chin.  
"Did she say so?" she asked. Wendy slowly lifted her head off the pillow and looked at Lucy.  
"Not exactly, no..." the girl answered softly.  
"Then there's still a possibility that she actually likes you, Wendy. Don't lose faith in yourself, okay?" the blonde mage watched the bluenette intently as the clogs in her brain did their job and fitted everything into place. Wendy was smiling in no time and she jumped up to hug the Celestial mage.

"Thank you so much, Lucy-san!" the two girls laughed and Wendy finally let go.  
"How many times do I have to tell you to just call me Lucy! I'm not that old, y'know..." Lucy sighed and Wendy giggled, falling back on the bed.  
"Lucy... I'm tired..." the Sky mage yawned and rubbed her eyes.  
"It's okay, Wen. Go to sleep." Lucy whispered and tucked the girl in. She was ready to get up and shower herself before going to bed, but Wendy's hand tugged lazily at her wrist.  
"Lucy... stay, until I fall asleep..." she mumbled and Lucy couldn't help but smile.  
She laid down next to the tiny figure and stared at her peaceful profile.  
Wendy was so young, yet she had seen so much of the world already. And now this, too. Lucy sighed. The young Dragon Slayer always seemed so strong and independent, but this side of her only proves that she's just a child. Strong or not, she needed a parent-figure in her life, someone to hold on to when times got hard. Wendy didn't show her weaker side most of the time. She'd unconsciously build these walls around herself to prove that she was a capable woman, someone everyone could rely on. Especially with having Healing magic and all that.  
Lucy could tell that Wendy was having a hard time with figuring out her heart at the moment. _Funny,_ Lucy thought grimly when her eyelids were growing heavier by the minute. She could relate all too badly.  
Lucy fell asleep next to Wendy with that thought ringing inside her head.

 _*POV change*_

"S-She did _what?!"_ Erza shrieked, her face glowing a faint red under the moonlight and few lampposts that surrounded them.  
Jellal had explained how Lucy had met up with Sting Eucliffe, from Sabertooth, after the first day of the Grand Magic Games and how things had gone... considerably _well._ For her anyway. It might not have been completely beneficial for Fairy Tail, at all.  
"Erza, calm down. I told you they were kissing and after that they've met up several times. It's no –" Jellal tried to reason with the Requip mage but she cut him off.  
"So... y-you're saying that _Lucy_ is ... doing s-s _tuff..._ with Sting Eucliffe, from _Sabertooth?!"_ Erza screeched and grasped the wall for support.  
"No, no, no! Erza, they're just hanging out with each other... _not_ doing, well... 'stuff'." The blue haired mage assured the woman.  
"Not that I know off, anyway..." he muttered and was glad that Erza was still too panicked over what he'd explained earlier to hear him.  
"B-b-b-b-but, _why did I not know of this?!"_ Erza yelled and Jellal had to restrain her with all his might to prevent Titania from destroying half of Crocus to get to the Celestial girl.  
"Erza... just calm down, okay? You can ask her about it tomorrow and things will be clarified." Jellal sighed when Erza nodded.  
"Alright, then. Any other... specifics, you wanted me to know? I should really get back to the inn." She said while flattening her skirt and adjusting her metal gloves (A/n: are they metal gloves? Idk, I'm just gonna call them that...).

"No, not really. But Erza..." Jellal said before the scarlet haired mage could leave, "...please be on guard. I, Melody and Urtear will keep an eye out for the abnormalities and I just need you to be safe." A small smile tugged at Erza's lips and she inclined her head.  
"Of course. And Jellal?" Erza began and said mage hummed in response.  
"Tell me when you find something. Anything." She spun her heels and walked out of the alleyway. Just before she rounded the corner she paused and looked over her shoulder at her childhood friend.  
"Take care. All three of you." And with that, Erza disappeared around the corner and Jellal vanished into the shadows of the ally that she left behind.

* * *

 **I'm so sorry that this is kinda short compared to my other chapters, but yeah... you guys got the chapter, right? \\(^w^)/**

 **Yay, sooo let me know what you think and thanks for reading!**

 **Also, I'd like to add that I LOVE the sort of sisterly relationship Wendy has with Lucy and I can't stop thinking that the anime/manga doesn't really show a lot of their connection... so yeah, here it is!**

 **And! I hope y'all get the difference between 'love' and 'love' in this and last chapter! Anyway,** ** _stay tuned bc I love ya!_**

 **-Fanfic Devil xxx**


	15. Chapter 15

Lucy woke up with a start when something next to her stirred and she immediately sat up.  
"Wendy..." she breathed relieved and lay back down. You could say that Lucy had been on edge lately. Freaked out at every little sound, even her own image in the mirror when she got out of the shower. Lucy didn't know what it was but she knew it had something to do with the dreams she'd been having. Or rather, the nightmares.  
Lucy rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she relived the vivid dream again;

 _"_ _But I said no!" Lucy screamed at the dark figure in front of her.  
"You must sing, Ms Heartfilia. No, no... You _will _sing indeed." The figure cackled like a mad person before vanishing into thin air.  
Lucy looked around frantically and was surprised to see everyone she held dear surrounding her.  
"Please, Lucy-san!" Wendy begged, Charle by her side.  
"Get fired up! Do it for your friends!" Natsu begged, dragging Happy with him who yelled a soft "Aye!"  
"Do it ...for your family!" Gray said while supported by Juvia who was on the verge of crying.  
"Now, now child. You must ...do it ...for yourself, too!" Master Makarov said quietly before collapsing in Mirajane's arms.  
"NO!" Lucy yelled, but no sound reached her fellow Fairy Tail members.  
"WHY?!" She yelled again, but before she could get any answer, everyone disappeared and was replaced by a mirror.  
"Huh?" was all Lucy could utter before she saw her reflection, or so she thought.  
"Lucy Heartfilia. Female. Age 17. Former status: Noble. Current status: Fairy Tail mage." Her reflection said and Lucy took a surprised step back.  
"Who..who are you?" Lucy asked carefully, pointing with a shaky hand at the mirror.  
"I am you. You will be me, that is if you don't sing." The future Lucy unclasped her cape and current Lucy held back a scream.  
"W-what happened?" she sobbed at the sight. Her left arm, where her Fairy Tail mark used to shine in bright pink, was now... gone.  
"Dragons..." Future Lucy whispered and a tear slid down her pale face.  
"What?! But that's insane!" Current Lucy yelled and stepped towards the mirror.  
"Listen, Lucy Heartfilia. If you are told to sing, so shall you sing. If not, the wrath of 300 dragons will be unleashed by _Him." _Future Lucy looked down at her feet and added quietly.  
"Please, I am begging my former self, do you know how frustrating this is?"  
Lucy could only stare at her future self before the scene dissolved in smoke and haze.  
"WAIT! What do you mean '_Him' _?!" she yelled, but there was no use. She was gone._

Lucy's eyes shot open and she carefully held her left hand in the air, calming down when she saw the pink mark still on its spot. It all didn't make any sense to her. Not the singing, not the yelling or her future self. And dragons? They didn't really exist, right?  
 _What about Igneel? Or Grandinee? Metallicana?_ Lucy thought warily and sighed in defeat. There was no way Dragons could actually exist, someone would've noticed one by now.  
"Lucy...san?" Wendy asked sleepily and Lucy looked down at her tiny figure.  
She was almost as old as the blonde, the difference was just a couple years, but that didn't change the fact that she was still Fairy Tail's little baby.  
"Hmm?" Lucy answered.  
"No.. nothing." Wendy answered and turned around to sleep again. Lucy smiled and got up. She took a quick shower and dressed herself into gear. _Another round of the Grand Magic Games, here I come. (_ **A/n** : Hehe... I forgot which day it was *whispers* sorry) _  
_Sighing she took her belt with her whip and key-ring and clasped it around her waist.  
"I'll be on my way, Wen!" Lucy said and the girl replied with a sleepy "Okay" and "Good luck!"

* _POV change*_

Rogue woke up to the sound of someone cursing loudly and a plate or five smashing on the ground.  
"Sting?" he shouted, getting out of bed and hurrying towards the kitchen.  
"What the hell are you doing?!" Rogue yelled at his twin Dragon Slayer who stood there, blood on his hand and staring at the broken pieces on the floor.  
"Shit man, what did I do..." he muttered.  
"You broke the tableware."Rogue answered indifferently.  
"I CAN SEE THAT!" Sting yelled and Rogue backed up a little.  
"Come on Sting, get your shit together. Can't you see you hurt her feelings, get your ass into some clothing and go _talk_ to her!" He told Sting and turned around to take a shower and change for the Games.  
"Fuck." Sting muttered and Rogue halted in the doorway.  
"If that's what you want you should just tell her." He taunted and ducked just in time for a plate flying towards his head.  
"Fuck you." He yelled and walked over to the sink to wash his bloodied hands.  
"Heh. Sting, sorry, but I'm not –" Rogue began but Sting cut him off.  
"Don't you dare continue that! I'm warning you, Chenney!" he yelled and dried his hands furiously. Rogue smirked at his reaction and turned around, again attempting to leave but he had one more thing to say.  
"Hey, Sting. You know how I always talk about those walls you build around yourself? Well, they're disappearing. Stone by stone, she breaks the walls down." He let out a short laugh.  
"It's funny to see that you don't even notice what she's doing to your head." With those words the dark haired Dragon Slayer exited the kitchen.

"Thanks, Rogue." Sting said after a while, loud enough for the dark haired mage, who was waiting outside the kitchen, to catch.  
"Eh? What was that?" Rogue said with a smirk, peeking around the edge of the doorway.  
"Argh, go away." Sting growled with a grin and threw another dish at the wall next to Rogue's head.  
"Okay, okay!" Rogue laughed and rushed towards the bathroom.

 _*Time Skip: At the GMG arena.*_

"Morning Lucy! I need to speak with you for a minute." Erza greeted Lucy once they'd gathered on the balcony.  
"Uhm sure, Erza." Lucy said and followed the Requip mage out the double doors.  
"What did you want to talk about?" Lucy asked with a polite smile.  
"Your midnight rendezvous, perhaps?" Erza said sternly, getting straight to the point and the smile faltered on Lucy's face.  
"Y-You mean... " the Celestial mage trailed off.  
"Yeah, I mean that Eucliffe of yours." Erza stated plainly and Lucy sucked in a surprised breath.  
"How... How did you know?" she asked carefully and Erza stuttered a bit before waving it off.  
"I have my recourses. Anyway, you didn't think it was important to inform us about that?" she asked Lucy, who looked away and scratched the back of her head awkwardly.  
"Uhm... well, you see... It's pretty funny actually –" she was cut off when someone approached the two.  
"Oi, Lucy!" Lucy turned around to see the same Dragon Slayer they were talking about nearing them.  
"U-uh... can we talk?"

Erza watched the two blondes, she didn't trust the Saber. He had a guilty glint in his eyes and maybe it was her imagination, but something seemed to be _off_ between the two of them. The redhaired mage decided to keep an eye out for this 'Sting' and leaned back against the wall _._ She eyed the two in conversation and studied Lucy.  
The Celestial mage had definitely lost weight since they got in Crocus for the Grand Magic Games, dark circles were beginning to form under her eyes and she was awfully jumpy the last couple of days. _  
Maybe I should go and talk to her?_ Erza shook her head. Lucy was mature enough to take care of herself and if something was bothering her, she would've definitely asked her fellow guild mates for help. Or would she? Lucy didn't tell anyone about her relation with Sting either.  
The Titania sighed and closed her eyes, only to open them and notice that the two blonde mages she'd been watching were now gone.

* _POV change*_

" _Sting!"_ Lucy hissed once they rounded another corner and desperately tried to free her wrist from his iron hold.  
"Lucy, just... just wait, I can explain." Sting tried to reassure the girl when they exited the Arena. Lucy sighed and gave up on freeing herself. She followed the Dragon Slayer to wherever he was leading her.

After a while they ended up in the blooming Palace Gardens and Lucy looked around her in surprise.  
"Well?" she motioned impatiently.  
"I... ah.. I wanted to apologise. I had no right to talk about Yukino like that, and I completely understand if you're mad... I probably deserve it, so.. yeah.." Sting trailed off awkwardly, he would never have thought about apologising but, there was something about Lucy that just made him want to do it. If only to prevent him from losing her over something stupid.  
"You're such an ass." Lucy laughed and jumped at Sting, suffocating him in a hug.  
"Wha—?"  
" I just needed you to say sorry, that's all." Lucy mumbled after letting him go and smiled up to him.  
"What?" Sting asked dumbfounded and held Lucy's shoulders warily.  
"Never mind. I think we should go back, you didn't have to drag me all the way here just to apologise, y'know?" She said and tugged on Sting's arm to get the both of them moving, but Sting didn't budge.  
"Wait, Lucy." He grabbed her wrist so she wouldn't walk away.  
"I wasn't done talking... actually." He began awkwardly and Lucy looked up to face him.  
"Well... continue, then." She smiled with curious eyes.  
"About Gray." Sting said and he didn't miss the guarded expression that clouded over his Celestial Mage. Suddenly, he became worried. He locked gazes with Lucy and gripped her shoulders tightly.  
"You need to tell me, alright? Do you like that ice-head or not?" Lucy squinted up at the male and abruptly stepped away from him, freeing herself of his grip.  
"What's with everyone giving him weird names?! Seriously, it's like no one can remember his name for Mavis' sake!" Lucy yelled in frustration and then glared at Sting.  
"And I can't believe you have to _actually_ ask me! Don't you trust me?" she spat at him, but regretting every word that came out of her mouth.  
She was guilty and she knew it. She wasn't to be trusted. She'd kissed Gray in the alley after her 'argument' with Sting.  
 _But I didn't mean to!_ Yet, she didn't stop him from pushing her against the wall. She had given Gray all the false hope she could and it broke her to see him.

"You've given me no reason to!" Sting answered, getting as angry as Lucy felt towards herself.  
"I wasn't expecting this to be some kind of test!" Lucy yelled, motioning between the two of them.  
"Well, what do you think it is?!" Sting's voice cracked, but he kept shouting at the girl in front of him.  
"Do you think I'm just messing around? Or that _you_ can mess around with _me_?! For fuck's sake, Lucy! Don't you know that seeing you and Gray like that, makes me feel miserable?" Sting bit his tongue before he could throw any more words at her.  
"I-I know that, Sting..." Lucy's sudden quietness startled Sting, but when he looked down Lucy's hair was covering her face and Sting couldn't make out if she was crying or not.  
"Then why?" he asked as gently as he could.  
"Why what?" Lucy asked silently, already dreading the answer, because somehow he _knew._  
"After you ran out the other day, I followed you. I tried to, at least. You kept moving around and when I finally found you... you.. God, Lucy. You were kissing _him_ again!" Sting tried to contain his anger but it somehow seemed to burn through his facade.  
"You.. followed me?" Lucy asked and looked up, eyes wet and trails of tears on her cheeks. Sting felt his heart break at the sight but he couldn't step forward. He couldn't embrace her, like he wanted to. He couldn't kiss her like that ice princess did in the alley. He couldn't, because he was angry with her at the moment.  
And his anger was the emotion in control.  
"Yes. Yes, I did!" Sting yelled and saw the girl he was slowly, but surely, falling in love with, flinch away from him like he had hit her.  
"Sting... I-I don't like Gray. I mean I do, but not the way you think. He's practically like a brother." Lucy's eyes were filled with so much regret. Sting had to shut his eyes for several seconds before he could respond to her.  
"Then why?"  
"I... told him. I broke away and told him. But I guess you missed that part. Sting, I was surprised, okay? He-he ... I didn't expect it. I just didn't..expect it." Lucy answered before breaking out in sobs and Sting's walls crashed down. His anger vanishing like snow for the sun and he caught her when she stumbled forward to bury her head in his chest.  
Sting held her tightly and regretted asking in the first place.  
He regretted yelling to her and making her cry like the first time they met. He wanted nothing else but to ensure that it was alright. But was it really? He still heard the little voice in his head, telling him that he had to be careful or get hurt.  
Sting shook his head in an attempt to chase away the voice. _No, I will not get hurt.  
_  
"Lucy..." he breathed when she pulled away and wiped her eyes. Silently Sting reached for her and cupped her face with both his hands.  
"I'm sorry.. I'm so sorry, Sting. I'm so sorry.." Lucy sobbed. Sting gently wiped away a tear with his thumb and chuckled lightly.  
"Don't." Was all he said before leaning down to kiss her. Just as he had a couple days ago, the only difference was that this was definitely _not_ her first kiss and Sting was going to make sure it definitely _wasn't_ their last.

* * *

 **I'M BACK FROM THE DEAD!**

 **Okay, I'm so sorry, you guys. I was gone for one whole month... I think.  
See? It has been too fucking long *sigh*  
Uhm.. I have my reasons, I suppose? School was bugging me and this personal shit happened and I had no internet for two weeks...**

 **Anyway! I'm back and I want to ask you something, well, two things actually:**

 **First: Do you guys want a HAPPY-Sticy ending or a** ** _SAD-_** **Sticy ending? Because I've been thinking and a sad ending would definitely be perfect for me, since I want to continue writing my other stories and a sad ending will only take me a few more chapters! (Ehehe... I'm very lazy v)BUT I don't want to disappoint you guys either T^T**

 **So; happy or sad ending?**

 **Second: I neeeeeeedddd a beta-reader! Like I seriously have no time to prove read everything anymore and I hate to see all these weird sentences and typos once I** ** _do_** **get to read the chapters...**

 **So; can any of you be my beta-reader? Idk... if I can't find one, I'll just delay my uploads and it will take longer for me to update chapters T^T**

 ***le sigh* Thank you guys so much for reading this very boring author's note! Much appreciated and I love all of you ~(≥v≤~)**

 **-Fanfic Devil, out!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail *sobs quietly in a corner after watching the last couple episodes***


	16. Sorry! Please read! Not on hiatus! ILY!

_**Hey guys!**_

 _ **I know that this is probably really annoying for some of you and that you were (probably not) looking forward to another update, but I'm so sorry and kinda proud to announce that I HAVE MY FIRST WRITER'S BLOCK! Yay! It literally sucks!**_

 _ **I've been trying to make a new chapter for so long now and it's just not working :( Explaining why I'm writing this lovely, false-hope-giving, author's note! I just wanted to let you know that I'm NOT stopping with my story, but just waiting for some inspiration to randomly pop into my mind!**_

 _ **Anyway, for those who added this story to their alerts and/or faves and those who didn't but still read it, thank you so so so so so much! You have no idea how much it means to me! And please bear with me, no matter how sucky I might be at update-schemes (which I don't have btw) or writing in general, I will try to get back to writing as soon as possible, but it's not like I haven't written anything at all, it's just that I can't figure out where to go with the story from here. If any of you have any good ideas, please do help me out :3**_

 ** _Again, thank you so much! I still can't believe more than 10k (!) lovely human creatures have read "First or Last Kiss?"_**

 ** _Have a lovely day/night fanficties! And if there's_ anything _you want to talk about, I'm always available!_**

 ** _Much love,_**

 ** _Iris_**

 ** _P.S._**

 ** _Just for fun: Current 3 fave songs-_**

 ** _Amber - Borders  
Sia - Reaper  
EXO - Promise (actually all time fave, but yeah)_**


	17. Chapter 16

_"_ _Just tell me! Please, I don't understand a thing you're saying!" Lucy begged the man in front of her. His image was wavering and it seemed as if he was just a projection.  
"I see no benefits in telling you, my dearest Heartfilia. All I can tell you is to listen to the melody." With that, the figure stepped back into the darkness. Lucy ran after him, but found herself falling into an endless pit.  
Darkness. There was only darkness when she reached the bottom of it. Her eyes could not adjust to the black surroundings and she found the distant sound of roars and weapons clashing frightening to the bone.  
Shivering, she called out into the dark,  
"I-Is there anybody out there?! Help...help me!"  
Her cries were shrill and desperate, similar to the ones she could faintly catch from somewhere outside.  
"Lucy Heartfilia." A voice as clear as crystal spoke and Lucy looked up into a grand mirror. She could feel some memory of seeing it before prickling her senses, but she had no idea why.  
"Speak, Lucy." The image in the mirror spoke and Lucy flinched backwards. Shuffling over the rough cobblestones and dirt.  
"I-I.. Who are you?" she asked, carefully getting up. Her hands were moving towards her belt with Celestial Keys, but they weren't there.  
"I am you. In the future, that is. Please listen to me," Her future self requested and Lucy stood frozen in place when déjà vu hit her hard.  
"Dragons..." she began and the girl in the mirror visibly paled.  
"Y-yes... "  
Lucy began walking towards the mirror and looked at the girl inside of it. They resembled each other pretty well. Although she had certainly lost weight in the future and the eyes of her future self were dull. Missing the spark of life in those brown orbs.  
There was another difference that Lucy hated to be reminded of.  
"I have to sing?" Lucy asked and her reflection nodded. Lucy smiled shakily and placed her left hand on the cool surface of the mirror.  
"Oh.." she exclaimed quietly when her image sadly placed her right hand against Lucy's left hand.  
"I forgot..." Lucy whispered, eyeing her own pink Fairy Tail mark.  
"Never forget again." The image of Lucy's future self vanished together with her last words in the air.  
"No wait!" Lucy screamed, clawing at the mirror, but it crumbled under her touch.  
"NO NO NO! You haven't told me what all of this means!" she cried, scrambling down to cradle the broken pieces of glass.  
"I need to know!" Lucy unconsciously squeezed the leftovers in her hands and yelped in pain. Frustration taking control, she flung the glass to the side and fisted her hands.  
She cursed the colourless air in front of her and curled in on herself, blood flowing from the cuts on her hands, but not caring anymore._

"Lucy?" a voice rang through her head and she squinted into the morning light. Where was she?  
"Lucy? Are you okay?" the same voice asked, now getting a worried taint to it.  
"Wha.." Lucy uttered before realising where she was. Who she was. And most importantly, who the person next to her was.  
"Sting!" she breathed and flung herself at the Dragon Slayer, who embraced her with less force than she'd hoped. After a short while Lucy untangled herself from him and sat back in bed with a strange expression.  
"What's wrong? Are you feeling okay? Lucy, if it's about yesterday..." Sting rambled on, but Lucy could hardly hear it. She stared down at her hands, eyes widening at the sight.  
"Are you listening?" Sting asked carefully and followed Lucy's line of sight.  
"Shit! Lucy, what happened?!" Sting sprang out of bed and ran towards the bedroom to get a wet towel. Lucy shook her head in disbelief and stared at her hands, covered in blood. Her blood. _The mirror shards..._  
"But how..?" she muttered and let Sting wash her hands carefully, afraid to hurt the girl more than she apparently already had.  
"I.. Sting, I gotta see Wendy.." Lucy mumbled and left Sting on the bed while Lucy scrambled across the room to find her stuff before running out of the room, bumping into a sleepy Rogue on her way out.  
"Wait! Lucy, why Wendy?!" Sting called after the blonde but she was already out.  
"Sting?" Rogue muttered, walking into his room.  
"What happened?" he asked and eyed the bloody towel.  
"I have absolutely no idea," Sting answered and stared at the closed door.

 _*POV change*_

"Please, Wendy, you must know what's wrong with me! Please, you know, right?!" Lucy pleaded the girl and the blue-haired mage looked up from the book she'd been studying.  
"Lucy-san... I d-don't know, I have to talk to Porlyusica about this," Wendy answered timidly, the blonde seemed obviously stressed out.  
"But... can't you at least tell me if the dream was the reason I got these cuts?" Lucy asked, holding her slowly healing hands out towards the smaller.  
"No, I'm sorry... I can't tell you anything at this point." Wendy looked down in shame and closing the book, moved over to her bed in the hotelroom. After shuffling some things around under her bed, she took out some paper bundles and stuffed them in a lightblue backpack.  
"What are those?" Lucy asked curiously and Wendy answered without looking up.  
"The spells Grandeeney failed to teach me. I got them from Porlyusica before the Games, remember?" Lucy nodded understandingly and followed the Wind Mage outside the room.  
"So... will Porlyusica know what's wrong with me?" Lucy asked once they'd descended the few stairs into the main hall.  
"Lucy-san, there's nothing wrong with you. But yes, I think Porlyusica will be able to tell why you're having these weird dreams," Wendy answered and smiled at Lucy before taking off with Carla. Lucy watched the two disappear in the sky and sighed before heading back inside.

"Lucy-sama!" Lucy was greeted by Yukino's cheerful voice as soon as she entered the room.  
"Yukino! I didn't know you were here," Lucy responded and took off her shoes before padding into the kitchen. Her smile faded when she saw with who Yukino was sitting at the kitchen table.  
"Gray?" Lucy's voice was suddenly soft and she stepped back when Gray shoved his chair back and stood up.  
"Lucy, will you just listen to m—"  
"What the hell are you doing here?" Lucy yelled, and Gray wasn't the only one surprised by her burst of anger. Lucy frowned, noticing Yukino's worried glance and bit her lip before taking a deep breath.  
"What are you doing here, Gray?" she asked again, much calmer this time.  
"I-I wanted to talk," Gray answered and took a step closer to the Celestial Mage.  
"There's really nothing to talk about, Gray. Can you please just leave?" Lucy's tired gaze found Gray's startling bright eyes and she had to restrain herself from crying once again.  
She felt like she'd just ruined a perfectly good friendship with one of her best friends.  
"Okay, I'll leave. But first, just hear me out okay?" Gray eyed Yukino from the side and the girl immediately understood what he needed and provided the two with some privacy.  
Gray, not wasting another second, moved closer to Lucy and cupper her face in both his hands.  
"Listen, I understand how you feel, and I know that you don't or just can't return my feelings. It hurts, yes, but I'd rather spend the rest of my life as your best friend than not spending my life with you at all." Gray's expression was anxious as he waited for Lucy to react, but she just stood frozen in place and looked straight back at Gray.  
When the silence became too much to bear, Lucy said the first thing that came to mind and she'd probably regret saying it later, once she'd seen the look of hurt cross the Ice-Mage's face.  
"I'm dating Sting."

* * *

 **HEY YOU GUYS! I'm back again and I hope with a statisfying chapter! It took me so long to come up with storyline ideas and stuff and I'm kinda glad that I could put this chap together** (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ **Also, I'm sorry if this is a little short** ≧◡≦

 **I hope you all liked it and tell me what you think should happen next!**

 **Love y'all!**

 **-Fanfic Devil, out!**


	18. Chapter 17

_"_ _I'm dating Sting."_ _  
_Those words rang through Gray's mind as soon as the petite blonde had spoken them. He kicked a rock on the side of the road in anger and replayed the memory over and over again. Three simple words were all it took for the Ice Mage's rage to flare up in much hotter flames than Natsu's could ever reach. Gray sighed, annoyed at himself for letting it get to him. It was _him_ , after all, that had come to Lucy's apartment. She wasn't to be blamed for his own feelings and he knew that, but he couldn't help himself from getting angry at the world. _Why did it have to be Sting of all people…_

"Gray-sama…" a voice cut through his train of thoughts and annoyance filled his mind once more.  
"What?!" Gray spat, turning around to face the Elemental. (a/n: not sure if that's what she's called ahhh sorry!)  
"U-Uh… Juvia knows how you feel and wishes you the best of luck with gathering the pieces of your heart back," Juvia spoke softly and it surprised Gray how much distance there was between them. Hadn't the Water Mage been all over him?  
"Ah, thanks?" Gray shook his head at Juvia's strange words and offered a small smile towards the blue-haired woman. She didn't squeal like he thought she would. Neither did she drool all over him like before. What was going on?  
"Juvia? Are… you feeling alright?" he asked, taking a step closer. Juvia only smiled and nodded, tightly grasping the hem of her coat.  
"O-Of course," she whispered and looked up at Gray, her eyes suddenly very empty.  
"Juvia's alright," she added and turned around to leave. Gray was left shocked as the rain came pouring down. He didn't know why, but he knew something was off and he had to find out what, before it was too late.

 _*POV change*_

"So what you're saying is that... this person called _Ultear_ has been trying to contact me through my dreams?" Lucy asked incredulous.

After Gray had left, Lucy's world was turned upside down. First came the blonde's tears and the misunderstanding from Yukino who still tried to soothe the Celestial Mage despite not knowing what was going on. Second came Sting, running into the hotel room demanding _what the hell was going on?!_ But before Lucy could give any plausible answers, Wendy came flying in, carried by her Exceed and with the most world crushing news ever.  
So naturally, the four gathered around and let the blue-haired girl do her thing and explain the whole ordeal.

That's how they ended up like this. Everything was a chaos and even the little girl with the answers didn't know what to do.

"Wait, so what does that mean?" Sting spoke up, carefully to keep his arm around Lucy tight and secure.  
"It means that whatever Ultear-san is trying to say, it's important and Lucy clearly plays a big role in it all." Wendy sighed and fidgeted with her hands.  
"But I don't get how Ultear could contact me from the future?" Lucy muttered under her breath, making Sting looked down at the shivering girl in his arms.  
"It probably has something to do with her Arc of Time magic, Lucy, don't worry about it too much." Sting rubbed her back and looked up at Wendy when she began speaking again.  
"Porlyusica says that could be right, but she doesn't know how Ultear-san was able to manipulate her powers in such a way that her Flash Forward could be used to this extent." The small girl looked deep in thought for a couple seconds.  
"Sting, " she suddenly said, looking up, "does Ultear-san has some kind of projection magic? Or copying magic?" Sting looked confused for a moment before his eyes lit up with recognization.  
"Yes!" he exclaimed, "She has this Thought Projection magic that allows her to copy her own form and let her projection interact with people and stuff."  
Wendy's brows scrunched up. "Hmm.. " she mused, "Ultear-san has been improving her own magic spells a lot, maybe that's why she was able to make a projection of someone other than herself."  
Lucy looked up and tilted her head. "You mean me?" she looked around the room.  
"But.. I—you … how? I mean that would mean that she projected in my dreams, right?" Lucy asked no one in particular.  
"Not necessarily, no. It could mean that you were awake but just not aware of it," Wendy said.  
Suddenly Sting grabbed Lucy's hands and showed Wendy the cuts that decorated her palms. Wendy gasped and snatched Lucy's hands out of Sting's own.  
"Oh my god! Lucy-san what happened!" Wendy cried out worriedly, getting ready to perform a healing spell.  
"I-It's from this morning, it happened in the dream… didn't I tell you?" Lucy answered carefully and winced when Wendy continued to heal her cuts.  
"No you didn't, but it all fits together now, don't you think?" Wendy said and sighed once Lucy's hands were back to normal.  
"Huh, what do you me—" Lucy stopped midsentence when realization hit her.

The future-Lucy in her dreams was Ultear.

* * *

 **Holy shit guys! It's been such a while since I've been on here and I'm so so so incredibly sorry for not updating in almost a year (I think it's been almost a year) ANYWAY! I'm back and I'm better (I hope)**

 **So this was a little chapter to get back into writing this story and I'd really like to know if you're enjoying this and whether you still follow the story or not! I could always do a small recap of everything in the next update.**

 **Stay safe lovelies! X**


	19. Chapter 18

**hello lovies! so i've officially decided** ** _not_** **to throw this story away and continue it! hooray! this means however that you will probably see some changes in my writing and my update schedule will be messy or entirely non-existent. i'm sorry in advance, but i do hope that all of you that stuck to the story will enjoy it till the end!**

 **much love,**

* * *

After Wendy had healed Lucy's hands, the group came to the conclusion that Ultear must be found. Which on its own was an impossible task, because not only would they be looking for an S-rank mage, but also one that the Council was desperately trying to find. Not to mention that Jellal, of all people, had formed a group _including_ Ultear and that there was basically no hope left of finding them anytime soon.

At least, that was until Erza burst into the room, yelling loudly about how she'd come across a broken down Juvia, a depressed Gray and a hysteric white Exceed that demanded she came to their hotel room immediately. Naturally, she had been worried about both the Elemental and the Ice mage so she took both of them with her on her way to Lucy. She had absolutely no idea of the tension she'd caused between said Ice mage and a certain White Dragon Slayer.

"Well?! Is anyone going to explain, or are we just going to stare at one another?" Erza demanded, her usual calm demeanor forgotten as she paced around the room.  
Wendy exchanged a quick glance with Lucy, who nodded her approval, before launching into a detailed explanation. She was careful to leave the parts 'Lucy and Sting' and 'Lucy and Gray' out of her story though, because she knew that Erza wouldn't have been amused in the slightest.

While the two were busy with their conversation, Gray eyed Lucy on the other side of the room. He watched how Sting held her and felt a pang in his chest, silently wishing the feelings would just go. His thoughts were interrupted when a loud source of energy stumbled across the hallway and crossed the threshold.

"Everyone!" Natsu shouted and Happy, who was perched on his shoulder, sighed heavily.  
"I have been looking _everywhere_ for you guys! Why couldn't anyone tell me you were here?!" he whined and plopped down next to Gray, who grumbled something about him being too loud. Natsu just shrugged it off and told Happy to go find something to eat. The Exceed let out his signature 'aye!' and flew off towards the kitchen.

"What's gotten you all down?" Natsu asked and scrunched up his nose at the other's unusual behavior. Gray raised a brow at the Fire mage and sighed, not wanting to explain the whole deal. He glanced at Juvia, who was in a hushed conversation with Yukio in the corner of the room, and felt the grip around his heart tighten. He turned back to Natsu to ask him something and found the other staring at him. Gray couldn't ignore the uneasiness of the situation anymore and his feelings were all jumbled. Maybe he just needed to talk to someone. Maybe he'd feel better afterwards. Gray sighed and concluded he must be going crazy if he were to actually talk to Natsu freaking Dragneel, but he motioned for the other to follow him outside, anyway.

Once they were outside, the atmosphere suddenly got heavier and Natsu, who couldn't really deal well with these kind of situations, tried his best to keep his fidgeting to a minimum.

"S-So…" Natsu started, but Gray cut him off with a wave of his hand. He gripped the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb before sighing heavily once again.

"It's Lucy," he started and Natsu cocked his head, question clear on his face.

"I… well, I … uh—how do I say this?" Gray mumbled the last bit to himself and was surprised when Natsu spoke up.

"You love her."

It wasn't so much as a question, more like a statement that was bound to be made, but he didn't expect Natsu to have noticed.

"Well, yeah… it's something like that, I suppose." Gray rubbed the back of his neck consciously and cursed himself for being such an open book that even someone as dense-headed as _Natsu_ could have noticed.

"And I take it that someone got in the way, right?" Natsu continued and Gray began to doubt everyone who had ever called the Fire Mage dense.

"A-Ah, yes? But it's noth—"

"Was it Sting?" Natsu cut him off and Gray was taken aback by the fiery look in his eyes. He could only nod and watch the Dragon Slayer's bottom lip jut out in a pout.

"Aw, I'm sorry." Gray was confused as to why he was apologizing but got no time to ask because Natsu was talking again.

"I should've told you, probably. I just didn't know you were – well, anyway. I knew Lucy was meant to be Sting's. They're mates. It's a Dragon Slayer thing, Gray. You couldn't possibly have interfered." Natsu sighed and moved back to lean against the crème colored wall.

Gray stood nailed to his spot for a good five minutes before Natsu's words finally made sense and he cursed. _Of course,_ he thought. _I couldn't possibly have interfered._ Gray closed his eyes, willing the burning behind his eyelids away. When he opened them to look at Natsu, said boy was staring at him. He felt the heavy gaze and he shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

Natsu snapped his attention elsewhere when he noticed he was staring at the Ice Mage.

"You know, Juvia's been down a lot lately, too. I thought maybe you knew why," Natsu said, not so subtly changing the subject.

"Uh… yeah, I'm in a bit of a mess I guess…" Gray carefully placed himself on the ground against the wall where Natsu was standing and continued, "I mean, Juvia's had a thing for me for a while, so I should've seen it coming."

"You mean, she confessed or something?" Natsu asked warily and Gray nodded.

"Wait _, seriously_?! Then what did you do to have her make it rain every damn day?!" Natsu almost yelled.

"I rejected her… I don't think it was as harsh as it sounds, but it clearly felt different to her. I really didn't mean to hurt her, Juvia's nice and all, but I was just trying to get over Lucy and…" Natsu nodded understanding and Gray was glad for once that he'd actually taken him serious.

There was a long silence between the two of them and Gray began to appreciate the Dragon Slayer's presence more and more. He'd never have known how such an understanding and sympathetic character hid somewhere inside of Natsu, if he hadn't taken his time to talk to him.

He'd always thought inferior of the other, besides his magic, he had been no one in particular. Except maybe his rival, but Gray believed that on an emotional level he was stronger than Natsu. Guess he was wrong, because it was clear that whatever Natsu had been through had made him to be such a strong person. The care and love he showed his _nakama_ was as genuine as it could get. Gray had yet to learn and understand the other's efforts.

* * *

 **a quick question here! would you guys like it if i added another pairing? (GRAY X NATSU?) because honestly, i think it would make the story slightly more interesting for both you, the readers, and me! so if you guys would like to see some m/m action going on, let me know in the comments!**


	20. Chapter 19

It seemed like the Grand Magic Games had only just begun when the last couple of days arrived. Everyone was busy making plans on how to find Jellal and Ultear, but there hadn't been any clues as to where they could be.

In the meantime, Natsu was trying the best he could to keep his instincts at bay. What happened with Lucy and Sting pulled at his inner dragon. He felt it stir inside of him, wanting to mate as well. And, though he may seem as a hotheaded mess, Natsu knew full well who his mate was. It was just a difficult task to mention this fact to him.

 _Gray_

Natsu's mask was slipping and his restraints were getting weaker. He knew he was threading on thin ice (hehe get it?) but he couldn't help himself. He couldn't hold it in any longer.

He needed to tell him someday. Sometime.

That they were mates.

But Natsu was terrified of the reaction he would get, so he convinced himself it was never quite the right time to tell him.

"Natsuuu~~ I'm hungry!" Happy's whine startled Natsu out of his thoughts and he craned his neck to see Happy upside down from his place on the couch.

"Well find something to eat then," Natsu grumbled and crossed an arm over his face.

"Natsu?" Lucy's bright voice made its way to his ears and the Dragon Slayer sighed.

"Hm?" he answered without removing his arm. He heard the blonde shuffle with her feet before giving up and sitting next to him on the couch.

"Something's been bothering you. Is everything between you and Gray alright?" Lucy asked, fidgeting with the bracelet on her wrist.

"Yeah, we good. Why? What makes you think something's up?" Natsu was careful to mask his words and not be too defensive. He knew the Celestial mage was perceptive and could detect lies very easily.

"I don't know… you guys have just been acting weird lately. At first I thought it was just Gray because of the whole Sting-thing and I thought maybe he needed some space or something. But now you're acting all weird too, and … well—Natsu you can tell me anything, okay?" Lucy sighed and placed a gentle hand on the arm across Natsu's face before standing up and telling Happy she was going to make some food so he should come with.

 _Fuck,_ Natsu thought as soon as Lucy was gone. Had he really been that bad at hiding everything? That couldn't be it, right? What if Gray had noticed it too?

Natsu shot upright on the couch and immediately fell off in his haste. _What if Gray had noticed it too?_ What if he had?

"Natsu," a familiar voice called from the doorway and Natsu sighed lightly before standing up and facing the man he'd been trying his best to avoid the past couple of hours (if not days).

"Gray!" Natsu greeted the Ice mage and got a frown in return.

"I've been looking all over for you, where've you been?" Gray responded and crossed his arms, standing like some sort of blockade in the doorway.

"Here and there, a little sightseeing in town. As a matter of fact, I just got back," Natsu tried and lost all hope when Gray saw right through him.

"And _as a matter of fac_ t, I know you would never use that term if you were speaking the truth." Gray huffed and uncrossed his arms before walking over to the Dragon Slayer.

"They found Ultear," Gray said and Natsu had to hold his breath at how close Gray was standing. Or maybe he wasn't standing _that_ close but it certainly felt that way for Natsu.

"O-Oh, that's great!" Natsu said breathlessly and mentally cursed himself.

"Also, Lucy said she thinks we should talk later." Gray passed Natsu towards the kitchen and called back that everyone was gathering in the girls' hotelroom.

A moment later, everyone had gathered around Ultear and Jellal, who Erza had finally managed to find somewhere in the surrounding forest.

The small gathering had listened carefully when Ultear explained the whole deal. She'd been training herself for at least a couple months now. Teaching herself how to manipulate Arc of Time to a certain extent, so that she might use it in different ways. Before her training she'd only been able to control short amount of times and lifespans of inanimate objects. Due to her training, however, she'd become more of an expert on her magic and she developed a new skill that allowed her to get glimpses of the future.

"Wait, stop—you mean you can see the future?" Gray asked, his face showing signs of awe.

"Well, not entirely. I get to see bits and pieces and they didn't even make sense to me until a week ago," Ultear answered and continued explaining.

She told everyone about her visions of dragons and a song that she wrote down for everyone to see. She mentioned that Lucy's face had come back several times in her visions so she'd decided to take matters into her own hands. That's why she'd reached out to the Celestial mage through her thought projection magic.

"Uhm, Ultear… I was just wondering, why did you have to make these dreams so freaking creepy?" Lucy asked when a silence fell over the group.

Ultear sighed and scratched the back of her head awkwardly.

"I'm quite sorry about that, Lucy. I hadn't meant to scare you the way I did. I just had to be sure my message came across and that you'd all be warned," Ultear explained.

"I think I might be right to assume that the dreams were all a bit weird to you because the way I used my thought projection was new to me too."

Lucy nodded thoughtfully and another pause silenced everyone until Erza spoke up.

"Okay, so what do we do now? I mean, you explained about the dragons and a possibility of Lucy playing a major role in all this, but how do we prevent it from happening." The red-haired mage looked around and met eyes with Jellal.

"I… haven't been able to think of any possible solutions yet. I do think that Ultear's visions may be useful at some point, though," Jellal spoke up.

"We should keep a watch on Lucy until the tournament is over, then!" Natsu proposed, to which the rest of their companionship agreed.

In the evening, Natsu already dreaded his proposal. Since nobody really had time that day, he was stuck with watching the Celestial mage first. Don't get him wrong, he loved Lucy as a sister but having to cope with her for three excruciating hours was hell.

So, when there was a knock on the door, it was no surprise to see Natsu ecstatic. He'd finally be free to roam the city with happy and maybe get something affordable to eat.

His mood immediately fell when he saw who stood in the hallway.

"Oh, Gray," Natsu mumbled and let the ice mage pass.

"What's with the sullen look, you flame-brain?!" Gray taunted but Natsu had no energy left to respond to it, so he just let himself fall onto the couch.

"What are you doing here?" Natsu asked and Gray frowned. Natsu seemed uncharacteristically passive and more tired than usual. He didn't even react to his taunts for god's sake. He was sure that something was bothering him.

"Remember I told you that Lucy wanted us to talk. I figured this was a good time."

Natsu looked up at Gray and held back a sigh. Gray really was beautiful from all angles, even from his place on the couch with his vision tilted.

"Alright… so, talk," Natsu said and was slightly amused to see the other taken aback.

"Where's Lucy?" Gray asked and Natsu pointed at the bathroom.

"If you're that uncomfortable to talk while Lucy is in hearing distance, we could take a walk outside or something?" Natsu offered and Gray nodded.

Natsu had actually hoped that Gray would refuse because he'd just found a perfect spot on the couch and would've happily fallen asleep right then and there. Unfortunately, he found himself walking out of the hotel a couple minutes after, trying to ignore the heavy thumps of his heart as he walked beside the raven haired man.

* * *

 **hey guys! i'm sorry this took so long to write/publish. i'm having some personal issues atm (when don't i though?) so i want to apologize again for not having any schedule whatsoever and thank you for keeping up with the story anyways. i need you to know that i really appreciate each and everyone one of you and all the love my story is receiving.**

 **it's been really hard for me to keep this story going but it seems like it is finally reaching its climax so i'm just gonna keep going and not disappoint all of you!**

 **i hope you enjoyed this chapter (which i made extra long to make up for the lack of updates!) and i'll introduce some gratsu next chapter!**

 **much love,**


	21. PLEASE READ! ILY! NOT ON HIATUS

_**hello guys!** (i know this is a lot of text, but if you'd read it all, it would mean a lot to me!)_

 _i'm back again with some unpleasant news :( i've actually been procrastinating a bit with this story and i want to apologize since a lot of you might still be following this and are waiting for new chapters!_

 _i'm trying to get back to the story but it hasn't been happening lately due to some personal issues i had/have to deal with. so my inspiration has been near close to zero. BUT! i've been getting a lot of nice reviews on my story and i just never like to quit something once i've started it, so i will not discontinue this story._

 _i'm just putting it off for a bit longer._

 _as for my personal issues, i suppose i owe all of you faithful readers at least some type of explanation. so let's start at the beginning;_

 _i started writing fan fiction when i was 14? yeah i think i was that young, and i just used to read them and all but then i got inspired to write actual fanfics myself. i used to keep a journal, in which i wrote my poetry and what not. but fan fiction was a whole new world to me and after much internal debating i finally started my first story ever: First or Last Kiss? _

_i was so proud of my first few chapters and i had no idea it would become this big (at least it's big to me bc more than 22k people have actually read this crap!)  
anyways, i was so focussed on constantly writing and publishing that i totally lost track of the plot i had in mind, even now, i can't remember what my original plan for this story was. but that's totally fine because i'm just writing whatever i feel like and going wherever the story is taking me, which suits my style better, i think._

 _however, there's a slight problem to this. since i write whatever comes to mind and make_ _up the story as i go, it's really hard for me to get inspired/motivated again once i'm stuck. this has happened on several occasions, which is why there's no structure in my updates whatsoever, and i'm incredibly grateful for all the love i still manage to receive despite the fact that you all probably wait for ages until i upload!_

 _OKAY, to the point: writing has been my way of getting my emotions out and converting these emotions into words is what i'm good at. it has always been some sort of escape, and not just for me, there's a lot of people that probably feel the same way. i feel relieved when i am able to write, but frustrated when i want to write and find my mind blank._

 _i did not have the best childhood experience and my mental health has seen better days, but writing has always been able to calm me down. and being able to share what i do? that's amazing. i love writing for you guys and i love getting so much in return!_

 _it's just that lately things have been getting worse (things started going down hill since January 2016) i have been suffering from depression since i was 12 and when i entered my second-last year i was on the verge of killing myself. i probably wouldn't be sitting here right now, writing this if it hadn't been for my friends. i owe them so much._

 _anyway, as you might understand, i'm having a little bit of trouble coping with everything right now and it's just so overwhelming that i'm now in my final year and that i survived (!) last year and that i'm still here, i'm alive, i'm alive, i'm alive._

 _._

 _well then, thank you all for reading! and i hope to see you in another update! i promise i will do my best to write the last couple of chapters as soon as i can._

 _i just want to tell you that i am so, so, SO immensely thankful for all the love my story received in the past and is still receiving! you guys have no idea how much that means to me! i love reading your reviews as well, they are all that keeps me going. you all are my motivation to keep writing!_

 _stay strong loves,_

 ** _iris_**

 _P.S._

 _my PM box is always open and you can talk to me anytime you want!_


	22. Chapter 20

The brisk air made Natsu want to wrap his scarf more tightly around his throat. He shivered, his breath leaving his mouth in tiny clouds.

"So…" Gray began and Natsu flinched, closing his eyes tightly. He desperately wished this all was just one hell of a bad dream and that he would soon wake up. However, when he opened his eyes again, Gray's dark gaze was greeting him.

"Yo, Natsu, you okay?" Gray asked worriedly before laying a cold hand on his forehead to take his temperature.

"Jesus, what the hell, Natsu you're burning. We didn't need to go outside if you have a fever!" Gray was fussing over the dragon slayer and if Natsu hadn't been so nauseous he'd probably feel flattered.

"I-I'm not sick, dumbass!" Natsu grumbled and smacked Gray's hand away from his forehead, trying to ignore the way his skin tingled where the ice mage had touched him.

"I'm naturally hot, I'm a fucking fire mage," Natsu added roughly and mentally scolded himself for the way he was acting. He was being childish, he knew. Lashing out with his words as a defense mechanism. Natsu couldn't help it, he didn't have someone teach him how to deal with this when he was younger. He just had his instincts to trust, but how he wished Igneel had taught him about human communications.

"I'm –ah, sorry…" Natsu hung his head in shame and couldn't look up to face Gray.

"It's whatever," Gray said to his surprise and found he really didn't mind. There was probably an obvious reason behind all of this, he thought.

Natsu looked up to face Gray unsurely.

The air around them seemed to change. It was like the day before when they had been talking in the hallway. There was a tension lurking and neither knew what to do in order to dissipate it. Though they were both aware of the strain in the atmosphere, they weren't all too bothered by it.

In Natsu's case, he didn't need someone to tell him to understand that he was causing the tension, but he couldn't help himself. He was nervous. A dragon slayer had one life and one chance only. If he were to do this and Gray wouldn't be able to reciprocate his feelings, it would ruin him. It would be devastating, but Natsu had been prepared. He'd talked to Gajeel about it and he was pretty sure that the iron mage was in a similar situation. The other dragon slayer had been a great help, his experiences being more useful than Natsu's own. Unfortunately, Gajeel was not the one trying to confess his feelings to a certain ice mage.

Natsu just had to it himself.

"Okay… well, I know that this might seem as a surprise and you might laugh, but just promise me you won't—Ah, sorry. I'm just rambling," Natsu started and cracked his knuckles nervously.

Gray was starting to shift uncomfortably on his feet too and wished the dragon slayer would just hurry, the nerves were starting to get to his head.

"Okay, so I know you've only recently managed to tell Juvia you're not in love with her, like, at all. Am I right?" Natsu asked carefully. If he didn't want to scare the ice mage away, he had to be cautious on this matter.

"Um, yeah I did. But you know I'm trying to get over Lucy now and all that," Gray answered just as thoughtful.

Natsu's face immediately fell, he was so _stupid._ How could he forget his best friend and rival had been struggling with a difficult situation and here he was trying to push his feelings onto him. He should really be more considerate of other people's emotions.

"Ah, right! How's that going? If you wanna talk about it—" Suddenly, there was a hard wall against Natsu's back as he was cornered by Gray. The fire mage's breath left him in a second and even as he blamed the impact of the stone wall, he knew it was because Gray looked stunning in this lighting and he could never be able to say that out loud.

"G-Gray, what the…" Natsu tried his best not to sound as breathless as he felt, but it was hard. Just as he was about to push Gray off of him, the latter leaned in and gently laid his head on Natsu's collarbone.

Natsu Dragneel, the man who fought against legions and legions of mages, who conquered them all and without any fear for his own life. That same man now found himself unable to speak, unable to move and unable to face the truth that was right in front of him.

"Don't pretend I don't know what you're gonna say," Gray sighed and his breath caressed Natsu's neck, but it felt like a blow to his stomach.

"I should just get over Lucy because she's obviously _infatuated_ with that blonde dragon slayer from Sabertooth." A sigh escaped those soft lips as they brushed against tender skin.

"Maybe I should give Juvia a try because it's clear she's head over heels for me, but Natsu… god, I don't feel anything for her." Natsu could sense the frustration radiating off him and it unsettled his inner dragon. Without thinking he wrapped his arms around the ice mage and held his breath when he felt the muscles underneath him tense. Although the tension soon left and made room for a relieved slump. Natsu was now supporting Gray's full weight and was glad for the wall that was keeping him standing upright.

"I keep saying I like Lucy though…" Gray muttered under his breath, but Natsu's enhanced hearing picked up on it.

"…it's not even anything like that."

Natsu's heart stopped. He swore it stopped for a full second before it started beating in overdrive again.

"Wh-what do you mean?" he whispered and was surprised when Gray lifted his head to face him instead. His arms fell to his sides without protest.

"Natsu… I don't really like Lucy. It was… I wanted…" Gray awkwardly glanced to the side. "I wanted people to stop thinking I'm incapable of settling down in a relationship. I wanted to prove to myself that I can love women like normal people my age do, but…" Gray turned to look Natsu in the eye and whatever he saw there, it made Gray's own eyes light up a perfect navy blue.

"You…what do you mean," Natsu swallowed and he saw Gray follow the movement with a glint in his eyes.

"Natsu, I mean I'm in love with someone."

He wanted to run. He wanted to run as far as his feet would take him without tiring and he wanted to blame the breath escaping his lungs in such a fast pace on that endless running and not on the man standing in front of him. He was in the process of pushing past Gray when his back hit the wall again. Much harder this time and with more fervor as Gray pushed an arm across his chest and leaned in to press his lips on Natsu's.

Natsu's brain was too slow registering what happened and it was over before he had the chance to return the kiss that would forever haunt his dreams.

"Gray," he breathed and it was the only breath he could take before the air was stolen by the man in front of him and he was suffocating.

He was suffocating in Gray's lips that felt surprisingly warm against his own. He was suffocating under the weight of not knowing what any of this meant because neither could stop to ask, much less to explain. All they knew was their lips on each other's and their arms locking the other in a tight embrace. Close enough for Natsu to feel Gray's erratic heartbeat through the shirt that was halfway opened despite the cold.

They broke apart a while after and both were left staring. Neither dared to pop the peaceful bubble they found themselves in.

Eventually it was Erza who succeeded in snapping them both out of it. Running in the two with news from Makarov, who was expecting all Fairy Tail members currently in Crocus at the bar beside their hotel. And if the look Erza gave them both was anything to go by, it was an urgent matter. Both mages wasted no time following the red head back to the hotel and despite the slight tension that buzzed between the two men, they both felt lighter, less troubled; as if a weight had been finally lifted.

* * *

 **HELLO LOVIES!**

 **yes i'm back with another chapter! and i'm pretty sure this story is about to end soon (like 2/3 chapters left) and i'm gonna make sure to work out every little detail to the best of my abilities! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE SUPPORT! if you're here and reading this, thank you so so so much!**

 **much love,**


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